


The Soulless, his Soul Mates and the In-Laws

by Selmak



Series: The Soulless and the Soul Mates [2]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-05
Updated: 2015-12-01
Packaged: 2018-03-21 10:21:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 21,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3688632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Selmak/pseuds/Selmak
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Followup to The Soulless and the Soul Mates.</p><p>Felix Blake, Jemma Simmons and Phil Coulson are struggling to adjust to their new life together. They'll adjust and adapt, however when the In-Laws decide to visit, all bets are off.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've turned off anonymous commenting on this story. Due to recent comments on other stories that included threats to break my legs (seriously) and comments about me tanking my stories from nameless souls hiding in anonymity I've decided it necessary.

“Where’s Felix?” Jemma asked when she woke to discover Phil was watching her. It was the first day post birth and Jemma wished to have her boys at her beck and call.

“He’s at the nursery, watching the babies, after he swapped out the blankets for the dogs to get used to their smell,” he murmured as he leaned over to kiss her.  “How are you feeling?”

“Narcotics are wonderful,” she purred.  “Now, tell me. Did you and Felix?”

She wiggled her nose at him, which cause Phil to smile.

“No,” Phil admitted as he twined his fingers around hers. “He’s far too focused on making sure the fur kids are ready to meet their siblings… and he’s not letting me get physically close to him. He’s got the walls up. It just means I have to woo him.”

While it might have been too much to hope that Phil and Felix had hit the sheets last night, she had hoped that they had cuddled at least. She needed Felix to buy into the new dynamics of their relationship.

“Woo?” she repeated. “Like John Wu?”

“Yes, no. Woo. W-o-o.  I have to court him, like I did when we first met,” he explained.  “That’s the problem, when I met you, the bond activated hard, and… he reached out to me…”

“Twice,” Jemma said.

“Five times, that night. He wanted to hear it from me and… the fact that he’s in terribly, terribly in love with you and you did yell at him, called him a liar… he’s just sitting quietly in the corner of our lives, trying not to be too noticeable or too needy, willing to take whatever table scraps we’re willing to give him but too gun-shy to accept how much we unconditionally love him.  It’s much how Sonya acted when she first adopted us.”

Jemma motioned for Phil to continue.

“She’d gaze at us, adoringly, and when we made the slightest move to pet her, she’d run. She peed on the floor repeatedly to show her submissiveness. She ruined our floors.”

“Please, don’t tell me that he’s peeing on the floor,” moaned Jemma. “Do you have any idea how many diapers we’ll be going through on a DAILY basis? I can’t add Felix’s angstie bladder to the total.”

“No, but Felix keeps searching for his matching marks. I don’t know why they haven't appeared, but they’ve haven’t.” Phil softly admitted.  “He needs the reassurance that we won’t leave.  We had to build up Sonya to the point where she trusted us, and it took a lot of patience. All in all, it is enough to make me want to scream and take a SHARPIE marker to him and mark him when he’s sleeping, but I have to accept the fact that I hurt him. So, why didn’t you tell him about your soul mark?”

Phil kept his tone light, and nonjudgmental.

“I wanted to be… pretty…. When I showed it to him,” softly admitted Jemma.  Pretty meaning thin and not being utterly huge with another man’s babies. Pretty meaning **_sexy_**   while Felix was being gentle and affectionate with her body insecurities. Because there was no way in HELL that her body was snapping back after this.

Felix seemed to instinctively understand her issues, while Phil had never realized her insecurities about her physical appearance. (Thanks Mum and Dad!)  Maybe because Felix had always wondered and pondered about his supposed inadequacies as a Soul Mute.

“Pretty? You’re beautiful, Jemma.” Phil insisted.

“He was just so terribly sweet and shy when he told first me that he loved me,” Jemma explained to Phil. “I wanted to be …. **_pretty_** …. when he saw his soul mark for the first time. I wanted it to be **_perfect_**.”

Opposed to being in the throes of labor, and hiking up her gown in front of an entire operating room to expose it and her quim AND THE BELLY THAT ATE THE FIVE BOROS. To her intense guilt, Felix had wept when he viewed it because it was most assuredly his handwriting.  Due to her vanity, her fears about her appearance, she had prevented from giving Felix badly needed reassurance that he had craved once Phil had reappeared. In her defense, no one had told her that Phil was among the living until she was having hard labor.  Really, considering she felt as though she was being split in two, she had been really well behaved.

Ok, she hadn’t been and she wanted to make it up to Felix, who naturally, claimed to understand why she had been such a prat.

Phil intently stared at her and then nodded his head in defeat. “I don’t understand.”

“Tell me how you’re planning on ‘wooing’ Felix,” she requested as Phil was hopelessly naive.

“We’ll talk, a great deal of talking, and go for coffee. When he’s less guarded, when he’s tired and his head is tilting to the left, as he’s too exhausted to force himself to hold it straight, I’ll offer to rub his neck for him,” Phil explained. Then with a sideways leer, he added, “It’ll progress to more.”

“I love commandoing him,” she admitted. “He’s so less likely to run when he’s exhausted. We just have to make sure he knows he’s an integral part of the family.”

“Amelia has her chubby little fingers wrapped around his heart,” Phil admitted. “Plus Felicia and James.”

Felicia had been the baby formerly known as Baby A, Amelia was Blake’s Baby B and James was the lone boy. 

“We have a problem, though,” Jemma admitted.

“Which is?” Phil asked.

“I never told my parents,” confessed Jemma.

“About the babies being born? You were a little busy,” Phil assured her.

Jemma crinkled her nose in the most adorable fashion which Phil realized anew how much he adored that gesture. “I didn’t tell them about any of this.”

“How about you tell me the big items you failed to mention,” Phil asked.  “They know you’re alive, right?”

“Yes. I left them a message after the Battle of New York occurred. I told them that I was fine and that I would be in touch but … things were chaotic. That was it,” she admitted. Her voice was noticeably higher when she added, “In my defense, you were dead, and I was pregnant and… I was really pregnant and I was scared that they’d raise the babies if anything happened to me. Felix was simply the only logical choice, because it was him or Fitz or Skye.”

“So they’ve missed the entire, dead son-in-law, pregnant daughter, new son-in-law….”

“He never married me, he never submitted the paperwork!” Simmons’ lips quivered. “I can be quite cross about that, right?”

“Surprise, old son-in-law is not dead, babies, and they’ve now got two son-in-laws; both are who are older than your mum?” Phil continued. “And it’s a good thing Felix didn’t submit it as you’d be arrested for bigamy.”

Jemma nodded, and was saved from answering when Felix knocked.  After Jemma ordered him into the room, he came in, looking very hesitant.

“Seriously, you don’t have to knock,” she groaned. “I want you here. I need both of you here.”

“I understand you can have real food.” Which was Felix changing the conversation.

“Yes, I puffed and cleared the room,” snipped Jemma. The explosion of gas meant that she was off jello and enjoying real food as her intestines were working. “The surrounding rooms had to be evacuated.”

Two men in her life looked at each other and mentally translated her British slang. It took several minutes, she noted. 

“It just means your plumbing is working,” Felix reminded her. “And since I know first hands the joys of narcotics on one’s gastrointestinal system… Doc says you can have prune juice.”

Phil smirked and Jemma groaned. “Can I have a chaser of some sort?”

“Doc also said that maybe you could have the babies in the room with you. Well, Felicia and James.  Amelia needs a little more time under the blue light because of her bilirubin. I talked to her and she is very understanding about why she has to be blue-lighted. However she wants more cuddle time with you when she’s released from her phototherapy.”

“Better do so, else she’ll insist on a tattoo and a nose piercing,” Phil added, most unhelpfully.

“Not until she’s at least two!” protested Jemma. Then Jemma looked at Felix, and waved at him. “Kiss?”

“I gave Amelia a kiss when I held her,” a sincere Felix assured Jemma.

Great, there was no doubt who Felix loved best in their relationship.

“Oh good God, he loves her more than he loves me,” Jemma protested to Phil. “ ** _Me_**. I require a kiss to hasten my recovery. Then kiss Phil.”

He still looked uneasy and Jemma realized it wasn’t because of the oddity of their relationship. It was, and yet it wasn’t.

“What happened? Another alien invasion?” Jemma questioned.  “I hope it’s just that you adopted another pitbull puppy.”

“Your parents left a message on the apartment’s answering machine. They want to talk to you,” explained Felix. “They seemed… displeased.”

“Bugger!” Jemma protested. “Bugger, bugger, bugger.”

This time Felix and Phil didn’t need any help translating her comment.

 


	2. 2

“What did my parents say?” Jemma asked when she finally settled down.

“Hello Jemma. This is your Mum and Dad. Call us please as we’re worried about you and the babies.  When Phil died, you should have called us. We didn’t like him, yes, but we would have supported you during your time of need. We are planning on coming there to help you with the babies, so call us. We want to make travel arrangements today so please call us when you get this message.”

Phil winced, playfully, and Felix tilted his head. “They sound like wonderful people. I guess they googled your name and discovered the birth announcements.”

“Come here, I want a kiss,” she ordered. “I just birthed a circus troupe, so I demand a kiss whenever I see you. I need emotional fortification before my parents arrive.”

Brief, gentle kiss on the lips was what he bestowed on her.

“That’s it?” She asked in real disappointment. 

“For now, you need to recover,” he reminded her. It was the reason, but not the complete reason, because… Phil was in the room, and the two of them needed to reconnect. He didn’t want to add additional stress on their relationship as they needed to rebuild their relationship after Phil’s non-death. It was the adult way to handle it, he felt. Yes, his old insecurities were eating him **_alive_** , but he had vowed to be understanding and patient.

“Ok,” she said. Her lip quivered and her Bambi eyes overfilled with tears. “I understand. You’re still justifiably angry with me for what I said. I really am sorry. It’s just… I was scared…and…really scared… and…  I’m just overwhelmed right now… because Phil’s alive…and you’re angry with me… and you’ll leave…. Because you always do… and my parents are coming…. And you **_knocked_** … on the door….like you’re a guest… instead of family…. And there’s three babies…and… Amelia’s being blue lighted and…. I tried so hard… to have healthy babies… and I just can’t do this… because my parents are coming … to help… and I know my mother will make comments about my weight…. And they hate Phil and they won’t understand… that I love you, too… and… you won’t even give me a proper kiss….and you’re peering on the floor…. And I want to shake you so hard for being so difficult but I can’t… because… you’re just scared… of being abandoned at the pound.”

Felix Blake had been a SHIELD agent for decades, and he had dealt with many natural and unnatural crises however Jemma Simmons-Coulson in the midst of postnatal crying jag was beyond his skillset.  AND HE HAD NEVER PEED ON THE FLOOR IN ALL THE TIME HE HAD KNOWN JEMMA.

“I’m never letting you go. Ever, but… I just don’t know why you can’t believe me that I love you,” sniffled a hormonal Jemma.

 Phil glared at very confused Felix, who, in turn, looked at Phil for guidance.

“Hug her,” mouthed Phil.

“Her C-section,” Felix protested.

“Carefully. And give her a proper kiss this time.”

* * *

 

While she sobbed so hard that she feared she’d rip open her stitches, Felix climbed into her hospital bed, and placed his arms around her.

“It’s ok… it’s ok…. You just take a quick nap before they bring up the babies to nurse.” He whispered, even while she sobbed herself into an exhausted sleep.

 “On one hand, I’m glad you showed up, on the other, why did you knock?” Phil asked. He kept his voice low so not to wake slumbering Simmons who was now snuggled against Felix.

“I didn’t want to barge in if she was nursing,” whispered Felix.  “What if the babies had been in process of latching on and I saw… what if she didn’t have time to cover herself?”

He stopped and didn’t continue his thought.

“Her breasts?” Phil asked. “You mean you haven’t seen them yet? They’re beautiful. I don’t think she’d mind if you admired them.”

“I’ve seen them, because I help her bathe the last few months, but I didn’t admire them because… we weren’t in that type of relationship.” Felix awkwardly fumbled and then ceased talking.

Phil rolled his eyes in disbelief and then, for added snark, he stuck his tongue out at Felix. “Seriously, are you really Felix Blake?  I know you, Felix and your sexual kinks. Do you really think I’ll believe that line of shit? I was the first homosexual relationship you had, and I know that you admired the female form even after we were dating.”

“I was always on my best behavior with her,” protested Felix. “Because she was your Soul Mate and I wouldn’t disrespect that relationship.”

The two men stared at each other, and then a somber Phil nodded his head.

“Felix, I understand that you love Jemma, and it’s perfectly understandable if you find her sexually attractive.  I think she’d really like you to find her attractive. I **_want_** you to find her sexually desirable. She has your handwriting on her inner thigh and I’m wearing your handwriting now. You’re part of this, and we’re not letting you go. This hiding you’re doing, this fear of getting too close, is traumatizing Jemma. She’s been through quite the roller coaster these last few months, and she’s exhausted and hormonal plus a looming visit from her parents on the horizon has just completely overwhelmed her. You don’t want her to cry like that again, do you?”

“Excuse me, she accused me of **_peeing_** on the floor,” protested Felix.  “I haven’t done that since I was sixteen months old.”

“I told her that you were reacting like Sonya did when you first brought her home. She’d stare adoringly at you, and if you made the slightest move to her, she’d pee on the floor. Remember how you taught me to handle her fright? Speak softly, sit on the floor and never yell at her for peeing on the floor. Don’t pat her on her head, instead rub her under her neck and sit next to her quietly. What did you tell me? In time, she’ll snuggle next to you, and demand affection. With her parents coming to visit, we need you onboard with the fact the three of us are in an equal relationship where the three of us love each other.”

“I am not a puppy that was used as a bait dog,” snapped Felix. “I don’t need you to rub my neck and speak softly to me.”

Jemma stirred and then rubbed his neck.

“But what if we want to,” she whispered.

“You need to focus on yourself and the babies right now,” he protested. “That is who I’m concentrating on.”

There was a knock on the door as the nurse announced the babies were visiting as it was feeding time, and Felix leapt out of the bed.

* * *

 

Felix deftly handled a sobbing Baby Amelia, while Phil tried to duplicate the same with an unhappy James.

“You’re pretty proficient with that,” protested Phil while James sadly whimpered.

“I took classes,” Felix admitted. He began rocking the baby and softly vocalizing to the wailing baby. After a few minutes, Amelia had settled down while James still fussed.

“He sang to her, I think that’s cheating,” Phil informed Jemma who was busy with Felicia, who was quite happy to be at her breast.  “James seems to be hungry, so can you handle two?”

“I’ll have to learn, as I want to breast feed them for the first few months. I’m not sure if it’s possible, but I want to try,” she admitted. It took some positioning but before too long, two babies were sucking energetically.  “I feel like a cow hooked up to one of those electronic milkers. Just call me Bessie.”

“You’re much prettier than any Bessie I knew,” insisted Phil. His flirtations earned him a happy smile from Jemma.

“I think Felicia can disengage, send over Amelia,” Jemma announced. “Felix, do you have my chart ready?”

“Yes ma’am,” Felix stated. He dutifully entered the data into his tablet and displayed the graph to Jemma.

“He’s such a good boy,” she cooed at Phil. “Make sure he gets a treat when you two go home tonight. Let him share the bed with you and give him a great deal of cuddle therapy. Scratch his…. Belly… tell, me if anything pops up.”

The leer she gave Phil flustered Felix.

“Stop treating me like I’m a **_puppy_** ,” protested Felix.  “I can hear you!”

Naturally, they ignored him.

“He’s not been sharing the bed with me,” admitted Phil. “He’s insisting on using the spare room.”

“So you have the bed with the really good mattress? No wonder he’s cranky,” Jemma commiserated. “My parents can have that room as I suppose they won’t like staying at a hotel. Give them the bad mattress maybe they’ll leave quicker.”

“Do I get the couch then?” Felix asked, as he felt as though he was being excluded from the conversation.

“No, you get the big boy bed with me and Phil,” patiently explained Jemma. “I’ll need plenty of cuddles from you both with my parents visiting.”

“If your parents don’t approve of you and Phil, I’m not sure that they’ll be particularly happy with me? Can’t we pretend that I’m just assisting with the babies?” Felix asked.

“No,” Phil stated. “I agree with Jemma on this. We’ve discussed your belief that you’re the third wheel in this relationship. From now on, it’s the three of us. **_Equal_**. We want you to accept that you’re part of this. I wish we could patiently convince you of that fact, but her parents will be here shortly. We need an united front when they arrive.”

“So, I refuse to hide my relationship with you from my family. They’ll have to understand or they won’t see their grandchildren,” explained Jemma.  “It’s as simple as that.”


	3. 3

When the children were sent back to the NICU, Felix left with them to oversee the transfer, which left Phil and Jemma alone.

“Sometime Felix is just so principled, that I am not sure if I should be pleased that I’ve got such an honorable soul mate or should I just smack him. I know laughing at him would just be a horrid thing to do,” Jemma murmured.

“Yes, he’d mortally offended,” Phil agreed. “He’s being … **_adult_**.”

“Adult,” wailed Jemma.  “Why does he have to do that? Why can’t he be childish like us?”

Phil snorted a laugh even as Jemma giggled.

“Because he desires the two of us to reconnect,” explained Phil. “I have missed a great deal and he is letting us have some privacy.”

“Well, what about you two?” Jemma asked. “How’s your **_privacy_**?”

An arched eyebrow suggested a great deal and Phil shook his head.

“You forget Felix and I were rooming together when you were on bedrest in the hospital. As for talking, Felix got really drunk on the night you got admitted and he shredded me,” Phil softly admitted. “Truth demands that I deserved everything he said to me. I have to woo him, like I said earlier.”

Jemma grimaced. Wooing was all well and good, but slow. Immediate action was required in her mind.

“Are you in pain?” asked Phil.

“No, it’s …. **_Felix_** ,” she explained.

“Why do you think he adopts pit bulls?” Phil asked.  “We fostered a few non-pits over the years, but Nekko is the first one that has ever stayed.”

“He likes dogs?” Jemma asked.

“He sympathizes with the pits,” Phil admitted as he stroked her hair. “Because each one of them was abandoned by someone who they had hoped was ‘The One’. He sees himself in them, in Sonya, Bogie and Bacall, Bambi and the others.  Sonya was a bait puppy while Bogie and Bacall’s owner died and no one wanted a pair of elderly bonded pits. Bambi had been shredded in a dog fight and he nursed her through it. In the beginning, I thought it would been a kindness to put her down and even the vet thought it might be for the best. Not Felix, he slept on the floor with his baby girl for the first week and assured her that she was safe and loved.”

She sighed.

“I know,” Phil admitted.  “What do you want to do about your parents?”

“Hide,” she admitted. He laughed as she desperately continued, “Move?”

“I’ll call them if you’d like,” he offered. “I’ll explain everything, they’ll be mad at me, and…”

“They’ll descend like the plague,” she protested.

There was another soft knock and Jemma rolled her eyes. Expressively. “Come in, Felix,” she singsonged.  “I want ten minutes alone with Felix, and then you can collect him.”

“Don’t break him,” he teased.

“I won’t,” she whispered as Felix entered the room. Then in a louder tone, she informed Felix of his latest transgression. “Knocking? Are you back to **_KNOCKING_**?”

“Didn’t want to wake you if you were sleeping,” Felix explained.

If she wasn’t afraid of ripping her stitches, she'd throw her pillow at him. Or smack him.

“Shoo,” she ordered Phil.  “I want some alone time with Felix.”

She ignored Blake’s plaintive appeal for help in escaping his punishment.  At the moment, only she was permitted to be the Sassy One in their relationship.  Only after the two men had popped out three babies would they be permitted to try to take the position from her.

“I think I’ll go watch the babies for a bit,” Phil stated to no one in particular as he was not necessary in this immediate conversation. “Be back in fifteen.”

“Took a while for you to come back up,” Jemma began.

“Amelia grabbed my finger,” Felix quietly informed her.  His normally stern face softened into a bemused wonder as he remembered the experience. He was so enthralled about the experience that he failed to notice that Phil hadn’t left the room but was instead listening intently.  “Wouldn’t let go. She’s got a strong grip for such a little girl.”

There. It was her perfect opportunity, so she reached out and wrapped her fingers around his.

“She takes after her mother and her father,” informed Jemma.  “She will not let you go, nor will Phil and I.”

Felix nodded his head in understanding.

“You and Phil will be sharing the good bed tonight,” she commanded him.  “And I want you two to have sexy times and submit a written report to me.”

Her sass caused Felix to emotionally retreat then and he shook his head in protest.

“Very well, a verbal summation is fine. But I want all the delicious details including the fact that Phil ends your two and half years of celibacy in a spectacular fashion. Multiple mind blowing orgasms, Felix, but done safely so your back and neck don’t ache in the morning.”

Felix blushed and shook his head. “I’m a little too old, little out of practice to satisfy your lewd curiosity. If you desire, I could pick up **_50 Shades of Grey_** tomorrow.”

“I’ve read it. Though I’m sure it would be much better than it is if you’d only read it in your warm and husky like dark melted chocolate fudge caramel voice,” she dryly admitted as she tried to quote the worst part of the book. “And my inner goddess will do a fist pump if you two make love tonight. You need to reconnect physically and emotionally.”

“Two and a half years, Felix?” Phil asked.

He had managed to sneak behind Felix and Jemma refused to let go of Felix’s hand.

“Two and a half years?” repeated Phil as he carefully embraced Felix from behind. “All this time, I thought you and Jemma had…”

He gestured a deliciously lewd gesture and Felix glared.

“She was your grieving soul mate, Phil,” Felix futilely protested even as he realized that Jemma had planned this intervention.

“Plus the English Channel was closed for all incoming traffic,” Jemma sassed which caused Felix to shake his head.  “And he was rather parsimonious with his kisses. I got to third base a few times, but he was limited to just kissing me.”

“Felix Blake, two and a half years,” repeated Phil.

“Yes,” Felix exclaimed. “Why do you keep repeating it? It’s not like it was thirty years!”

“Thirty months?” Phil asked.  “Thirty full months of no physical affection? Nobody rubbing your neck when it ached? No one snuggling next to you when the bed was cold?”

A defeated Felix Blake mumbled a protest but Jemma and Phil just ignored him. They were doing this for his own good. Shock and Awe, or in this case, Jemma decided this offensive was better described as Shock and Sex.

“I tried,” Jemma admitted. “But he was horribly noble and refused to let me exert myself. He was so insistent on taking such proper care of me, that he’s been neglected, Phil.”

“I’ll take care of him,” promised Phil.  “Let’s go home Felix.”

Jemma ordered them to leave and then only after they left did she permit herself a sigh. It was tough being noble.

* * *

 

The two men arrived home, noticeably looking at anything but each other. Struggling for a diversion, Felix took the fur kids for their evening pee mail and left Phil alone. Coulson wasn’t sure how to proceed, because probably stripping was a bad idea.  So he waited in the living room until Felix returned with the dogs in tow. The fur kids gave him a good night kiss and then they were sent to their beds.

Felix then sat down across from him, a coffee table separating them.

“You don’t have to do this,” they both stated at the same time.

Felix loudly exhaled even as Phil shook his head.

“Do you remember how it was when we were both interested?” Phil reminisced. “I thought you were such a tease at first. Then I realized what the problem was, that you were interested but scared.”

“I was not **_scared_** , I was concerned due to your reputation as a Lothario,” Blake snapped.

“I decided that I’d take it slow,” Phil continued as though Blake hadn’t interrupted.  “Because I knew you were worth it. I’ll take as much time as you require, just as long as you give me as much time as I need. I’m not quite the same man I was before I died, maybe that’s why your signature appeared postmortem.”

A relieved Felix Blake smiled his rare smile. “Simmons is gonna be so pissed that you didn’t shag me into the mattress tonight. We could always blame it on my back.”

And Phil Coulson grinned.


	4. 4

“So,” Phil began. Slowly, which caused Felix to roll his eyes. “I notice you seem to be tilting to the left. Would you like me to massage your neck?”

An innocent request, a sincere offer to help loosen Felix’s tight neck muscles, except for someone that knew Felix as intimately as Phil did. Neck massages usually led to kissing which led to… fun.

“Seriously, do you really believe that I’ll fall for that shit?” a disbelieving Felix asked. “We agreed that we’d take this slow. Glacier place, Phil.”

“I promised you that I’d take this slow, so just a massage, nothing more,” protested Phil. “I also know how you are. You’re very tactile, so the fact you’ve been celibate for thirty months means that you’re touch starved. While I’m sure Sonya and Nekko were willing to snuggle with you every chance they could, and you and Jemma were getting emotionally and physically close, you haven’t permitted yourself to be soul to soul, skin to skin. You’re the personification of self-sacrificing idiot, after all.  Plus, since I’m your Soul Mate, I require close physical contact with you to stabilize my connection with you.”

That earned him a grimace, a narrowing of Felix’s eyes and a growled, “Self-sacrificing **_idiot_**?”

Phil smiled his best, flirtatious smile and Felix’s displeasure failed to relent.  Well, that was how their relationship worked. Phil was the fun one while Felix was the strict disciplinarian with their fur kids.

“How is your neck and back?” Phil asked. “The emotional stress must be causing you some discomfort. What’s the Blakecon level? Roundhouse?”

Which translated into the average pain level for Blake.

No answer, which meant Blake had overdone it and he was sucking up the pain.

“Bed, Felix,” ordered Phil. “Where’s your pain pills?”

“Took one when we got home,” admitted Felix.  

“Bed, Felix. And for the record, the bed will be the same one I’m in,” insisted Phil.  “It’s a long day ahead of us today, starting with an extended discussion on how Jemma’s parents will be informed about the three of us.”

“I’m rather surprised that she agreed to a council of war before we call them. She’s more of a jump first, oops forgot to pack a parachute type personality,” admitted Felix. “Must be because you’re back in the mix.”

Phil did a double take and Felix shook his head. Painfully. Slowly.  Felix knew what that look meant.

“I was crediting you for the change,” admitted Phil.

The two men looked at each other, and groaned.  Felix began searching for his shoes, and Phil reached for the car keys.

“Felix, that minx you married is a very wily and duplicitous agent who is familiar with her prey capitulating after copious administration of her Bambi Eyes,” Phil reminded Felix. “She’s also far smarter than us.”

“Didn’t sign the paperwork, so I’m not married to her. That’s all **_you_** , Mr. Dr. Simmons,” Felix futilely protested.  “You’ll need to drive as I have drugs in my system. Can you fill the fur kids bowls with dry food and water? I’ll call the dog sitter later this morning so the kids won’t be cooped up all day. Nekko tends to watch porn for view if he’s sans adult supervision.”

* * *

 

Jemma couldn’t fall sleep just yet, as she just had finished breast feeding her cuddly crew.  James, took after his namesake Philip James Coulson. He was a natural, as he latched on to her nipple like a pro. Felicia, named after Felix, had quickly gained the understanding that warm, snuggly, Mommy time meant **_food_** , but **_Amelia_**. Dear sweet Amelia (who both her husbands has wisely not remarked on the fact that she had been named after one of Jemma’s favorite Companions), Baby B, was having a more challenging time, which meant that she needed a little more one on one time. 

“I’m surprised your Soul Mates aren’t here,” the nurse gently chastised, though Skye made a disapproving noise.

Thank God, her obstetrician had done the “She has two Soul Mates, they’re both alive, so don’t be a prat” pep talk to her team so they were able to say Soul MateS… plural… without choking.

“They’ll be back at six or so,” Jemma stated. “I gave them one good night of sleep before the next decade’s worth of sleepless nights. Besides, I have Auntie Skye here.”

Amelia finished her nursing and was gently placed into her bassinet.

The nurse left, and then Skye leaned to Jemma. “Spill it,” she commanded. “What’s the real reason why I’m here as opposed to the boys?”

“I really appreciate you breaking your date with Jasper,” Jemma assured her.

“Not just any date, but THE DATE,” Skye protested. “We were planning on….”

She gestured and Jemma flinched.

“You should have told me, ‘NO! I’m have much better plans.’ I didn’t realize you and Jasper hadn’t taken that step yet,” admitted Jemma. “You two look so … cuddly… together.”

Or, as Felix was prone to comment whenever the four of them had ‘double dated’, he had felt his teeth rot and his blood sugar rise to an unhealthy level after mere minutes in their company.

“We might be Soul Mates, but we had several rather stellar arguments. He knew that I was his Soul Mate, but he didn’t tell me because he didn’t trust me because I was a Rising Tide Hacker.  We haven’t… because Jasper wanted us to be in a healthy, honest relationship with a firm foundation before we made love for the first time. He’s such an adult sometimes that I want to scream, but he wanted to ensure that I didn’t get emotionally hurt because we weren’t solidly friends first. It’s rather…. Nice… to have someone care for me like that. To desire to take care of me, but still not be overly protective.”

Skye tilted her head, but her long hair failed to conceal her blush.

“You were planning….” Jemma protested.

“You’re my BFF, so naturally I’d come running when you called. Plus, I assured Jasper that I found his self-sacrificing nobility extremely sweet, so what could he say?” Skye teased. She then blinked her eyes in a coquettish manner which caused Jemma to laugh. “Now. Spill it.”

“I need to call my parents and I didn’t want them here when I called them. They’ll be protective and it will be …. a difficult enough conversation  without Phil and Felix overhearing,” Jemma admitted. “But I didn’t want to be alone when I called them. I’ll call them **_now_** , if you promise to stay.”

The two were close, as sisters, so Skye was well aware of the difficulties Jemma had with her parents.

“It’s 1AM,” protested Skye. “Oh, they’re in Sheffield, correct?”

Jemma nodded.

“I’m here,” Skye promised.

“Thank you,” Jemma whispered. “It will be quite difficult to explain Phil **_and_** Felix.”

With much trepidation, Jemma called her parents. “Hello, Mum? It’s me, Jemma….”

* * *

 

Olivia Simmons answered the phone.

“ ** _JEMMA_**!” She exclaimed after Jemma’s timid introduction. “Let me get your father.   HAROLD! **_HAROLD_**! JEMMA’S ON THE PHONE! It’s about time you called us. You didn’t call us, we feared you were dead. We hired a private investigator to search for you and he rings us up with the birth announcement?  How Dr. Jemma Simmons Blake and Felix Blake proudly announce the births of your **_THREE CHILDREN WITH THE DECEASED PHIL COULSON!_** And who is **_Felix Blake_**? When did Phil die? Why didn’t you call us? Your father and I warned you about him, he was significantly older than you. Good God, Jemma, you didn’t kill him during sex, did you? Is that why you didn’t call us as you were embarrassed as he died **_in flagrante delicto_**? And seriously, three babies? Was it done in vitro after he died? Ginny’s daughter had in vitro and ended up with FOUR! Anyway, don’t you fret. We’ve got tickets to NYC so we are leaving for the airport now. First, we have to stop at the chemist for bits and bobs that you’ll need for the babies, but we should be in New York in twelve hours. Inform this Felix person he will be meeting us at the airport. **_HAROLD!_** ”

“I’m on the phone, Lib.  Give her a chance to explain herself.” Harold then paused before he began talking over Jemma’s explanation. “You should be ashamed of yourself. Your mother and I have been worried sleepless. We believed you were dead, and instead you found yourself a new husband and you were up the duff. Didn’t you think we’d like to know? Didn’t you think we deserved to know? I swear I wish I knew what went on in that head of yours, Jemma. Your brother and sister are so respectable and you’re so bloody flighty.”

After a rather long one-sided conversation, the Senior Simmons finally ceased talking, after one final outburst of “What do you have to say for yourself, Jemma Elizabeth Simmons? I refuse to call you Jemma Elizabeth Simmons Coulson Blake. I can’t believe that I spent all that money on your education and you fly off to the States to become what? You’re a party planner, Jemma! I’m incredibly disappointed in you! Your brother and your sister have lucrative careers, and their Soul Mates are at least, age appropriate.”

A male voice answered, “I’m afraid Jemma is no longer on the phone, Mr. Simmons.  If I may, I’d like to introduce myself. I’m Felix Blake, one of Jemma’s Soul Mates.”

“One of?” Olivia groaned. “When did my life become a bad episode of **_Corrie Street_** _?”_

The Simmons demanded answers, completely justified in their biased opinions. When they ran out of energy for the airing of further grievances, Felix Blake spoke.

“Mr. and Mrs. Simmons, I fear that we are getting off on the wrong foot. However, since I understand from Phil that you didn’t particularly care for him either, I’m in excellent company. Now, there are some new rules in your relationship with your daughter. You ever speak to her again in that tone and cause her to break down in tears, I will ensure that you never **_ever_** talk to her again. You will never see her, you will never meet our children and you will be completely cut out of her life. Do you agree with me on that, Phil?”

A very familiar, very much not dead voice chimed in an easy agreement.

“I understand that you are flying into JFK later today. Please give me your flight information and I will meet you there. Do you have a place to stay? Or do you anticipate that you would be staying with Jemma? Rather high handed of you to assume that as you didn’t ask if she had room for you.”

The Simmons seemed uncertain on how to handle the additional Soul Mate now in Jemma’s life, who seemed even less biddable than the willful Phil had been (was?). Between that unhappy turn of events and Phil still being alive, (how?)  they quickly gave Felix the information he requested and disconnected the phone call.

Olivia Simmons then went to Harold and smacked him hard.

“This is all **_your_** fault. You **_coddled_** her, so she’s grown up into a delinquent with a daddy complex.  This Felix Blake fellow sounds just as **_old_** as Phil. How do I tell Ginny that Jemma is having a ménage à trois with a pair of sugar daddies? The one baby’s name is Felicia, which means Felix is the father!”

“You’re mixing your idioms, Lib. You have to stop watching American tellie,” protested Harold. “And we’re not sure who the fathers are.”

He flinched.

“I didn’t just say that?” he pleaded to the High Court of Olivia Simmons.

His rebuke was a firm and powerful smack to his arm plus a look of extreme disapproval.

“YOU DID!”

* * *

 

“That went well,” quipped Phil as he had witnessed firsthand slightly less violent implosions of one Anthony Stark after an all-night drinking binge.  “Let’s go back into Jemma’s room and tell her **_what_**?”

“You’ve moved up on the favorite son-in-law. You’re no longer dead last,” Felix assured him.  “We’ll send Skye home to Jasper.”

“Jasper?” Phil murmured.

“And try to reassure Jemma that everything will be just fine,” Felix decided. Maybe if they both willed it, it would be so.

“You’ve never met them,” protested Phil.

“Looking forward to it,” lied Felix. "Besides there's strength in numbers. Jemma is the priority."

“ ** _JASPER_**?” Phil repeated. “With Hacker Girl?”

“Absolutely besotted.”


	5. 5

Skye returned back to her small apartment after being dismissed by Jemma’s two husbands (Like wow, you go Jemma! Both Coulson and Blake were absolutely enthralled by Jemma, so really Skye needed pointers like… immediately). As she had been trained to notice, someone had entered her apartment, but the thread was now pink, which meant Jasper was there.

She move stealthily so not to disturb him if he was sleeping. First mission, after hanging her coat in the closet was the kitchen to grab a cold drink from the fridge. Plus a slice of pizza, maybe, if Jasper hadn’t eaten it and then she’d snuggle next to him.

However, she was met in the kitchen by Jasper.

“Morning,” he whispered as he leaned down to kiss her.

“You waited up for me?” she asked.

“I heard you open the door,” he admitted.                 

She smiled at him and then she stopped smiling when she looked at the table.  A beautiful spread of roses, nice china (Which she didn’t own) and silverware (again which she lacked). There was a silver bucket, which… was full of water.

“I thought we were just having take out tonight,” she protested.

“For our first night of many together, I wanted to make it special,” explained Jasper. “No Chinet paper plates, **_real_** silverware…. I even bought a bottle of really good champagne. Did you eat?”

He opened the fridge and began pulling out strange dishes. While not particularly tall, Jasper was sufficiently tall enough to block her way so she was required to stand on her toes in order to peer.

“I grabbed something in the vending machine.” Skye then stopped talking and then wiped her eyes. “I can’t believe you did **_all_** this for me and… I ruined it….”

Jasper gently took her into his arms and gave her another kiss.

“You didn’t ruin it, because Jemma needed help.  Jemma’s your best friend and she has her hands full right now.  And yes, I did all this for you as you are absolutely positively worth it,” he assured her. “I know we had a rough beginning.”

“You didn’t want to admit that you were my soul mate, because Mr. Respectable Bespectacled Agent was ashamed of having Hacker Grrrl as his soulmate,” she softly admitted. It still stung but not quite as badly as it once had.   After all, her soul mark written in Jasper’s jagged scrawl was ‘ _My good God! Why is the universe fucking me? I deserve a kiss, at least_ ’ in Spanish.

Her comment earned her a tightening of Jasper’s arms as he continued to hold her.

“No, I was scared at the possibility of losing control,” he softly admitted.  “Because it was just overwhelming when I first met you. I wanted to protect you and keep you safe, yet you were involved with that Miles creep.”

“He was the only person who thought I was worthwhile.”

Jasper’s eyes narrowed yet he kept his smile.

“I think you are extremely worthwhile. That’s why I insisted we take this slow, so I could court you,” he explained. “You needed to be reminded that you are quite utterly worthwhile.”

“Can we just get to dessert?” Skye asked. “It’s been **_HORRIBLE_** being celibate these last few months.”

“Sure, but I want you to try my mamacita’s churros. I made them myself,” he proudly explained. “I had to make a few batches so I hope you like them.”

Reluctantly, he let her go and then he returned back to the fridge.  With a flourish, he presented them to her and she pretended to marvel at his craftsmanship, until she looked at the churro was bent into the shape of a rather lopsided heart.

There was a ring. A sparkly ring.

“Jasper?” whispered Skye.

“Will you eat pasta with me for the remainder of our lives?” The Pastafarianism Jasper teasingly asked. “And perhaps the great Flying Spaghetti Monster will gives us plenty of little Ditalinis to love?”

Skye just stared at him for the longest time before she started to cry.

“We’re not naming any of our children after pasta or sauces,” Skye wept.

“Wait? Are those sad tears?” Jasper asked. “Oh god, they are. I promise you, the pasta thing is a joke. I thought you knew that.”

“You idiot,” Skye informed a concerned Jasper. “These are happy tears.”

* * *

 

Meanwhile, Jemma was in her hospital bed, nestled between her two husbands.  Both of her husbands were being very careful not to jar her as it was a tight fit.

“They’ll be here in twelve hours,” Jemma repeated. There was the slightest tremor in her voice and both men moved to soothe her.  

“They’ve been warned to be on their best behavior,” Felix stated. “They don’t behave, they’ll be told to leave by Phil and me.”

“You don’t worry about your parents, we’ll handle them,” assured Phil.  “Now, get some sleep.”

Jemma permitted herself to fall asleep and Felix peered over her sleeping form to look at Coulson.

“They that bad?” he mouthed.

“They mean well,” Coulson mouthed.

“Fuck.”

* * *

 

After a few hours, the babies were brought into nurse.  Jemma was extremely proud of her little pit bull puppy as Felix didn’t run screaming for the hills when he caught sight of her naked breast.  No, instead he smiled, ok… dimpled…. Then looked at the floor and then at Phil, who had jabbed him once he saw Felix’s reaction.

“Not necessary,” Felix growled.

“Jemma wants to take a shower before we take her home. She’ll need our help and you need to be in here and now when we help her. Not staring at the floor.”

“I have a slightly more respectful relationship with Jemma as opposed to yours which is based on sheer primal need, so put your fire hose away, Coulson,” primly protested Felix.  The two men tried not to look at each other, but the quivering lips trembling in tandem was a dead giveaway that they were slowing getting back into synch with one another.

Baby steps, she reminded herself. The two of them were capable of being in the same room with her and Felix didn’t seemed to be looking for an excuse to bolt as he had before.  Now they were even snarking with each other, which was quite promising except for the fact she didn’t want to laugh. Not now, when her belly still felt like it had been torn asunder even with the really good drugs onboard.

“If you two are about to laugh, can you leave? I don’t want to join you as my stitches might tear.”

That settled them down, her goofy, earnest Lab (Phil) and her far too protective pit bull puppy (Felix). When she felt up to it, she’d snuggle on the couch with them and scratch their ears. Or something.

“There’s a bigger shower at home,” stated Felix. “With the shower chair, you can even sit if you want so Phil can wash your hair. Jemma liked it when I washed her hair, so you should learn how to do it.”

“Looking forward to it,” Phil admitted while Jemma unexpectedly stopped smiling.  “Hey, you stopped smiling. What’s the issue, Jemma?”

“Just a little tired,” she lied.  It wasn’t the truth, but she hoped her boys would let sleeping dogs lie.

“Go talk to James,” ordered Felix. “Let me talk to Simmons for a bit.”

Felix made a shooing motion, so Phil stuck out his tongue and took James and Felicia away for some one on two time.

“I know that look,” whispered Felix. “Give your body issues a personal message from me. Tell them to go to hell. They’ve caused enough issues for us already, and Phil and I believe that you’re beautiful. Let us help you take a shower, today and until you’re fully recovered.”

Jemma shook her head and Felix leaned closer to her.  “Phil doesn’t realize that you’re that insecure about your body. I know your parents helped create your concerns, but you had a baby or three, it’s a simply amazing body, but it needs a little help recuperating right now.”

“I don’t want you two seeing me like this,” protested Jemma. “I mean…. Give me a week or two so I can get comfortable with my new mommy body.”

“You didn’t want to share your soul mark with Felix because you were worried about your body,” Phil reminded her. He joined their conversation and his smile was gentle as he struggled to reassure Jemma.  “Look, Felix and I are both balding.”

“I’m receding, there’s a difference,” offered Felix.

“Not much of one,” protested Phil. “The two of us are both middle ages, we’ve got a great many scars between the two of us. Don’t you think I’m worried about how you’ll react to my scars?”

“I’m just happy you’re alive,” protested Jemma.

“Then have more faith in your soul mates, Jemma,” requested Phil.  “I wasn’t here when you needed me, so Felix took over. He did a wonderful job, but let me help you now. Please?”

Her eyes welled with tears as she nodded her head. “For the first you two saw me naked…. I just wanted to be… presentable…”  Not droopy and saggy and achy and….

“You’re gorgeous,” Phil assured her.

“If it makes you better, Phil and I will strip down when we help you with your shower,” offered Felix. “Though I fear the sight will scare you into celibacy.”

                                                                                                                            


	6. 6

“Home,” Jemma gratefully announced as the Simmons Flying Circus landed at their apartment door. 

“Thank God,” Felix muttered even as Phil stated his firm belief that the invasion of Normandy had taken less preparation what with the car seats, the seemingly photo ops with everyone involved with Jemma’s confinement, etc. Jasper and Skye who had had volunteered to help them get settled (e.g. Jemma couldn’t lift, Felix couldn’t lift more than fifty pounds, there were two dogs anxious to see their mum and their new siblings) just smiled at each other as they were literally aglow.

“Would you two mind waiting with the babies for a minute while I leash Nekko and Sonya?  I want to ensure that the first meeting goes well between them and their new siblings,” Felix asked.  “Phil and Jemma can come in with me as the kids really miss her. Then when we’re settled, you two can tell us when the wedding is.”

“Wedding?” Jemma protested.

“Sitwell finally put a ring on it,” Phil quoted the learned sage Beyoncé.

Jemma got teary-eyed and hugged Skye while both Phil and Felix pointed at their eyes and then at Jasper.

The _We’re watching you, Sitwell_ , message was sent and received by all involved.

* * *

 

Sonya and Nekko examined their baby siblings. It went exactly as Felix had predicted, Sonya decided they were HER babies to protect while Nekko seemed uncertain as his role of cutest and smallest member of the clan had been usurped.  It took him a moment and the presentation of a new squeaky toy before his viewpoint was recalibrated. After he squeaked his toy once or twice, everything was once more right in his world.

The Queen, Jemma, was settled in the settee portion of the couch. Her concerned daughter, Sonya, immediately claimed dibs and sat next to her. Nekko, not to be outdone or outloved by his bigger sister, climbed onto the couch also. That was quickly decided as not good enough as he wasn’t close enough to his Mum as he had missed her very much, so he decided to sit on Sonya.  Sonya just ignored him as her mum was stroking **_her_**.

“How’s my girl?” Jemma asked.  “I love you too, Nekko, but your dad was able to sneak you into the hospital to see me. Sonya was just too big for him to hide in his laptop bag and I really missed our girl talk.”

Nekko being a rather sweet natured dog, decided to let the two girls bond as well, Skye’s lap was free. His fathers were busy putting the new puppies in their crates, so he wouldn’t bother them.

“Will you be ok when your grandfather is here?” Jemma asked Sonya. “He’s quite tall, and rather loud but he means well.”

There was no way Harold Simmons would agree to be known as Sonya’s grandfather, she knew. He wasn’t a dog person, and well, Olivia would swoon in dramatic fear as Sonya was a Staffie.

“I could watch Sonya if you’d like,” Skye offered.

**_NOOOO, you can’t send me away, Mum. You just got home. I’ll be good, I’ll be the bestest big sista ever._ **

Sonya’s big melty eyes peered into Jemma’s soul and made her feel incredibly guilty.

“I’m not worried about you, I’m worried about your grandparents,” Jemma softly admitted. “I would be very angry if they upset you because you’re my firstborn. Don’t tell your sisters, I love you more as you’re already housebroken.”

Sonya licked her face and Jemma laughed. But carefully, because of the stitches.

* * *

 

Jasper and Skye left after a very short visit. The three puppies were sleeping in their cribs, their older siblings sleeping on a comfy dog pillow in their room.  (Fortunately Nekko didn’t mind sharing his large pillow with Sonya.)

“Since it’s the three of us, we need to talk about important issues,” Jemma prompted. Her two husbands (as she still thought of Felix as her husband, paperwork be damned) agreed with her.  “I think we can all agree what the big issue is.”

“We are so _**outnumbered**_ ,” Phil confessed.

“Your parents. They step out of line, I’m shipping them to the Harlem apartment,” Felix announced.  “Good thing I wasn’t able to sublet it.”

Seriously, she loved both of them, but were they playing stupid?  Their concerns were not the Big Issue.

“No, the important issue is, when are you two having hot and steamy make up sex? My parents are due to arrive in four hours, so if I take a nap, and you two use their room, there will be enough time for you to change the sheets and come snuggle with me,”  announced Jemma.

She was doing this for their own good as the two of them needed to get back into physical synch, plus her much abused quim was shut down for traffic for the next year or so. There was the six week recovery period and then, well, she’d have to get back into shape because her husbands couldn’t possibly be interested in seeing her new mommy body. Well, with the exclusion of her new munificent boobs that were in overdrive to produce as much milk as her babies needed. She had caught Phil admiring them, and from Felix’s shy reaction, it was pretty obvious that he was smitten as she was stunningly stacked.

“Doctor said you couldn’t make love for at least six weeks,” Phil stated.  He was sitting next to Felix so he leaned around him so Jemma could see him.

“So we decided that we’re waiting until you’re ready to join us,” Felix announced. “We’ll wait…”

“Until you’re ready and in the mood. You tell us when, we’ll hire Jasper and Skye,” Phil explained.

“Scare them off from ever having children,” muttered Felix.

“Then we’ll sneak off to the Harlem apartment where we will have candles, pillows, lube, and condoms… whatever you need for it to be an enjoyable experience.”

How sweet, how sincere, HOW UTTERLY EXASPERATING!

“But you two haven’t…. in **_years_** ,” she protested.

“Do you think I don’t know that?” asked Felix. “Do you really think I don’t want to have sex with Phil? I might add, sex so lurid that even your imaginative brain would implode from the sheer magnitude?”

“Then why aren’t you doing it then,” Jemma asked. “Phil was always eager to bugger me into the mattress.”

There was a muttered protest from Phil, but he was smiling, so no harm done.

“Felix is rather gun shy,” Phil began, but when Felix protested, he changed it to, “Ok, he’s being very coquettish.”

“Fuck you,” snapped Felix.

“Language,” mock protested Phil. “We need to rebuild our relationship until we’re at a comfort level where sex is the natural next step. I nuked my relationship to Felix back to the Stone Age when I met you. And Felix bolted, instead of talking to me.”

“You promised me that you would tell me when your Bond activated,” Felix quietly stated. “That I wouldn’t hear about it second hand.”

Coulson lost his smile and nodded his head in acknowledgement.

“I wish you would believe me when I say that I am terribly, terribly sorry. Can I plead temporary insanity when the bond activated?” requested Phil.  “You must have felt the same when Jemma and you Bonded.”

“It’s one way,” Felix confessed. “No soul marks.”

Jemma felt her eyes well with tears. She imagined how the little lonely pit bull puppy Felix must have felt. The puppy who had just wanted to have a home and to be loved only to have it ripped away after he believed… no, **_trusted_** … that he had found it.  It had been replaced by something better, she hoped, but only time would tell.

Both of her husband carefully kissed her as they realized that she was upset.  Fortunately, they didn't ask her why, because she would have bawled her eyes out. 

After she was once more composed, Felix twisted his face into a smirk before he announced. “On the plus side, I haven’t lost my mind like the two of you.”

 

 


	7. 7

“The kids are asleep, your parents should be arriving at JFK in six hours so what do you want to do now?” Phil asked. Only the three adults were awake as all the kids, human and fur kids, were asleep.

“Take a nap,” requested an exhausted Jemma.  “I’ll be on the side, Felix in the middle and Phil on the side. Would you mind positioning me, Phil? And Felix, you’re in the middle because Phil has to carry the babies to me if they need attention. You’re tilting to the left so you’ve overdid it today.”

Felix began to protest, and Jemma placed her index finger over his mouth to silence him. “If you’re a good puppy, I’ll have Phil tuck you in also.”

“Why do you **_insist_** on comparing me to a puppy?”  Felix asked.

“Because you’re just so cute,” she mock teased.  “And I need to housetrain you.”

Felix grumbled a protest

“At least she hasn’t decided to Bob Barker you,” Phil quipped. “You know, help control the pet population. Have your pets spayed or neutered.”

“I think you should get Phil neutered,” Felix helpfully offered.  "Before he knocks up the poodle downstairs."

* * *

 

After the three of them positioned themselves as Jemma instructed, Felix fell asleep almost immediately. That left the two conspirators in a state close to uncontrollable giggles.

“Do you have the Sharpie?” Jemma whispered. She was sitting upright as was her two husbands. Felix was still asleep but Phil was wide awake and prepared for fun.

A quick nod was her answer.  Phil presented her with one and he began to scribble on a shirtless Felix with his own Sharpie.

**_I know you._ **

**_I know you._ **

**_I KNOW YOU._ **

Jemma began to write on Felix, determined to mark him as her own personal Soul Mate before he met her parents. (Well, she’d share him with Phil, the babies, the puppies but no one else.).  She had just finished a rather ornate I KNOW YOU with an extremely exuberant swirl and for good measure, added a few hearts and assorted X’s and O’s when Felix kissed the top of her head.

“Go to sleep,” he softly ordered. Then he leaned, carefully, towards Phil and the two men kissed. It was a very brief kiss, but it was still a kiss, Jemma delightedly realized.  In a very wry tone, Felix added, “You’re a fucking asshole, Coulson. She needs her sleep and instead you two are graffitiing me? I thought you and I agreed that she needed to be well rested when her parents descended upon us.”

Phil scrunched his shoulders and mouthed the word, ‘Descended,’ as though Felix had described a horde of Chitauri warriors were visiting NYC.

“We just wanted to **_ensure_** that when her parents arrived, that you were thoroughly marked as ours,” explained Phil.

“Because you’re **_ours_** , and we’re never letting you go,” explained Jemma.  “Now, go back to sleep before someone sounds off an alarm.”

There was a slight whimper from one of the cribs, and Felix announced, “James.”

“I’ll check them all,” Phil announced as he clambered out of their bed.  “Felicia will be next then Amelia won’t want to be left out of the fun.”

* * *

 

Olivia Simmons tapped her tablet, thumbed her way through the various photos and videos Jemma had sent her and shook her head.

“Look at **_them_**.  This new fellow is older than Philip, what with his white hair,” Olivia protested.  “They’ll be dead before the children are off to college. And that **_dog_** , Jemma needs to get rid of it as those type dogs aren’t safe. Especially around babies!”

Sonya, the guilty dog in question, was holding one of her stuffed animals in her mouth and vigorously shaking it with a happy growl.

“Dangerous,” Olivia repeated.  Her thin lips was pursed in disapproval. “This is your fault, Harold. You spoiled her.”

“You let her take flute lessons,” Harold reminded Olivia. “You let her focus on her artistic side. Claiming to have two soul mates just reeks of her having an artistic, poetic nature. Everyone knows one soulmate per soul.”

“Fortunately, her brother and sister are arriving tomorrow,” Olivia stated as they slowly made their way through Customs.  “We will have the intervention with her that we should have held when she ran off to become a party planner. She takes after your Aunt Peggy.”

The Simmons were so involved with their family drama that they failed to realize that there was a wide invisible circle that surrounded them, as nobody wished to get too close to them.

* * *

 

Felix Blake stood by the luggage claim. He was wearing a grey sweater, dark grey Dockers (freshly pressed) and his work shoes.  In one hand, he held a sign ‘OLIVIA / HAROLD SIMMONS’ which he assumed he wouldn’t need to utilize.   Jemma had sent her parents pictures and videos, so no doubt they had been sharpening their knives for the entire flight.

However, Jemma’s Knight Errant had been fortified by a kiss from both Jemma and Phil prior to undertaking this dangerous mission. He couldn’t help but notice how Jemma had beamingly approved when her husband and the spare had kissed, so he decided to do whatever necessary to keep earning her approval.   If that meant kissing Phil, well, he’d do it.

And to be honest with himself, he had missed the physical aspect he once experienced with Phil.  Sharing the bed with him (plus or minus puppies), the **_touches_** , not just the sexual touches, but straight, non-sexual **_touches_**.  As he had explained numerous times in his life, he wasn’t Asexual – he was a demisexual, demiromantic, so once the emotional attachment had been formed, yes, he liked being touched and held.

And he really craved to be part of **_their_** family.  Yes, Phil and Jemma (Especially Jemma) had kept reassuring him that he was an integral part of their family, but… why wasn’t he **_Soulmarked_**?  Really, being Sharpie marked wasn’t quite the same thing.

And especially now, the in-laws were a significant make or break moment for their new relationship.  One tear from Jemma, one snarky comment from Mama Simmons, they’d be out of the apartment.  Phil, being the diplomat, might try to smooth things over, but not Felix.  He had witnessed the damage the Simmons had inflicted to their daughter, including that entire body image issue.

He had left Phil to deal with that issue, as a Jemma had insisted on wearing a medieval torture device, an abdomen binder, so her cute little Buddha belly wouldn’t be so pronounced when her parents arrived. Really, he was male, he didn’t understand the female psyche.  Jemma had just given birth, couldn’t she give herself permission not to be a supermodel who had the C-Section/Tummy Tuck two for one special? Felix had the left the two of them deciding on what Jemma should wear with non-helpful advice from Sonya, who thought Mum should go bare.  

He watched as a couple came off the flight that was sufficiently enough of a match that it could be Jemma’s parents. Felix didn’t reach them in time, as they headed towards an elderly man and asked, “Felix?”

_W.T.F.  The guy was in his late sixties, and a rough looking late sixty. I don’t look THAT bad. I look pretty goddamn good compared to THAT._

Felix took a deep breath, decided that leaving Jemma’s parents at the airport would probably upset Jemma, though he could honestly claim that they willingly went home with the wrong person.  Phil would understand **_completely_** , but really, Sonya would give him the stink eye.

He moved faster, as they had seemingly adopted a new son-in-law.

“Hello? Olivia? Harold Simmons?” he called.

The looks on their faces when they realized that they had just accosted an innocent bystander were priceless.  However, he couldn’t show them that. He couldn’t show them the slightest weakness or the smallest hint of disrespect as all hell would break loose.

As it was, Felix Blake believed he heard the Choirs of Hell merrily belting out _Ave Santini_.

“I’m Felix,” he explained. “It’s wonderful to finally meet you. Can I help you with your luggage?”

Naturally, he got the overweight luggage (eighty four pounds and three ounces, the overweight sticker merrily mocked him) with the bad wheel.  He managed to manhandle it into the trunk of the Jeep but his back decided to inform him that he was an utter asshole. Or it could have been Jemma’s mother with her voodoo doll.

Well, on the positive side, pain pills could possibly make Jemma’s parents bearable. Shame he couldn’t share them with Phil.

* * *

 

“Traffic’s a bit bad today,” he finally announced the obvious to his two passengers when they were stuck for fifteen minutes in the same block.

No response, so he just smiled. He was about to turn on the radio and listen to something upbeat and cheerful, perhaps a funeral dirge, when Olivia Simmons attacked.

“So, I understand that you and Phil go way back,” she mentioned.

“We do,” he admitted. “We’ve been very good friends for years.” 

Thank God, he didn’t slip and say ‘Decades’.

“I don’t remember seeing you at the wedding,” she pounced.

“Couldn’t make it, unfortunately,” was the practiced answer. “Sometimes my job takes me out of town.”

“So you’re a party planner, also?”  Harold inserted. “I understand the three of you work at the same company.”

“No,” was all he admitted.

“What do you do then?” Olivia asked.

“Logistics, operations and security.” Close enough to the truth that he felt comfortable saying that.        

“For a child’s party company?” Harold laughed. 

“We’re an international firm. We specialize in making the impossible happen on a daily basis. Your daughter is quite good at what she does, you should be proud of her work. I know I am,” Felix quietly announced.

The line drawn in the sand, he dared them to walk over it.

Naturally they didn’t walk over it, they fucking Waltzing Maltida’d over it.

“It must be so difficult blowing up balloons,” Olivia admitted with a dry little laugh.

Felix turned to face them, regretted it immediately as his pain level went up to new levels of exquisite.

“Ground rules.  One negative comment like that in front of Jemma and you will not be staying in our apartment. You will stay in my Harlem apartment and you will have hours that you are invited to see your grandchildren.”

Naturally, Harold wasn’t having any of that.

“You don’t talk to my wife like that,” Harold fumed.

“Well, you sure as hell won’t talk to **_mine_** like **_that_** ,” Felix growled.

Naturally, that’s when the traffic began to move. He saw Olivia pat Harold’s hand, and then Olivia asked, “I have to admit that I’m rather confused about your relationship with Jemma and Phil. And this apartment in Harlem? You have a separate apartment? I thought you were living with Jemma… and … Phil.”

“Phil was hurt badly during the battle.  He went unidentified for a time, and we believed that he was dead. When Jemma found out about the babies, I had her stay with me, as she needed help.  We moved to a new apartment just before the babies were born as my old apartment was too small. I haven’t been able to break the contract with the land lord or sublet it. I have a few more months left and then the lease is over.”

“And Phil?” Harold prompted.

“He died,” Felix quietly admitted. “They revived him, but he was in a coma for a bit. Had some memory issues but he’s fully recovered now.”

“So, you and Phil… before you met Jemma?” Harold asked. “

“Friends,” was all Felix admitted.

He focused on the traffic until they pulled into the parking garage for his apartment. 

“You live here?” Olivia asked. She seemed startled as apparently she had quickly realized that Jemma and her men weren’t living in a tenement shack.  

“Child’s parties pay quite well,” he snarked.

* * *

 

Robert the garage attendant took one look at Blake’s posture, how he was limping and he shook his head. Bob was a retired Marine Gunnery Sgt so he was paternal and protective of everyone.

“Mr. Blake, you shouldn’t be dealing with those heavy bags. I’ll have them brought up for you,” Robert informed him.

“Thank you,” Blake answered. He slipped him a twenty as it was that type of day.

“How’s the babies?” Robert asked.

“Amazing,” Felix softly admitted while Robert laughed.  “These are Jemma’s parents. They’ll be in and out of the building, so please assist them if they need help.”

“Anything for Miss Jemma,” stated Robert.

* * *

 

“They’re in the garage,” Phil gently informed a very nervous Jemma. “You OK?”

“Felix hasn’t killed them yet?” She asked. Jemma fortunately refrained from asking if he liked her outfit, as it was her fourth change. “They were stuck in traffic for **_two_** hours.”

“No, he says that they were perfectly well behaved,” Phil assured her which reassured her.  Jemma didn’t know Felix as well as Phil did, as that translated into ‘they were being assholes of Stark-like proportions’.

“I’m glad, as Felix can be brusque at times,” she admitted.

“He’s protective, there’s a difference,” Phil stated. “He also sounded as though he twinged his back, so we’ll have to keep an eye on that.”

She nodded, and she quickly checked the babies who were all adorable as they were sound asleep.  That done, she checked on Nekko who was wearing a T-shirt that announced he was the Big Brother, and Big Sister Sonya who had picked up Mom’s unease.

“They’ll gonna love you,” Jemma assuredSonya. “Not as much as I do, though.”

The door handle jingled and Jemma stood next to Phil. Phil slipped one hand around her back and kissed her cheek.

“Everything will be fine,” he promised.

“From your mouth to God’s ears,” requested Jemma.

Felix Blake appeared first. He was white-lipped from pain, or barely controlled anger, which meant it had been a very long two hours.

Olivia and Harold appeared next.  Olivia put her hand over her mouth and shook her head. “Jemma, look at you! Are you sure they took all the babies out?”

Jemma jerked as though she had been hit even as Protective Paternal Phil took over. “I think she looks beautiful, Olivia. Don’t you agree Felix?”  

“Goddess-like,” Felix admitted. He walked over to Jemma, ok… limped, and put his arm around her also.

Sonya, determined to be a peace maker, brought over her squeaky toy to her grandmother, who reacted as Phil had feared.  She loudly gasped at the sheer Staffieness of Sonya and exclaimed, “You’re getting rid of that dangerous dog, aren’t you, Jemma?”

Faced with the horrible realization that her granny didn’t love her, Sonya reverted back to the submissive dog she once had been.  She cowered, tucked in her tail and then proceeded to pee gallons on Harold Simmons’ leg.

 


	8. 8

There was a moment of deadly silence, the type usually reserved for when Uncle Charlie has decided to strip down to his skivvies for Christmas dinner and plant face forward into the stuffing. The silence grew and grew until Harold Simmons moved his leg, not to kick Sonya, but still it was too much for the frightened dog as she plaintively yipped and ran towards Felix.

“Phil?  Can you take Harold’s pants…. **_Trousers_** … and put them in the washer?” Felix Blake’s composure nearly slipped when he realized that he had offered to have Phil wash Jemma’s father’s underwear. “I’ll take Sonya and Nekko outside so they can use the dog run. I’ll be back.”

“Jemma, really, the dog isn’t even housebroken,” protested Olivia when a dejected Sonya left the room with her brother and father. “I hope you’re getting rid of it.”

“Her,” Jemma stated “And **_no_** , I am not getting rid of Sonya because she’s **_our_** dog. When I was on bedrest, she kept me company for the last month.”

The sweet and stalwart Sonya had stayed with her the entire time, unlike Nekko, who was cute and cuddly and not burdened with an overabundance of brain cells. He had been quite happy to have the couch to himself though he had visited her several times a day.  Sonya, on the other hand, had stayed close to Jemma just in case her Mamma needed anything.

And Jemma remembered how heartbroken Felix had been at the thought of abandoning Sonya, how that night had brought Felix and Jemma to a closer understanding.

“Did she pee on the bed?” Harold quipped.

“Sonya has a problem with strange men,” explained Phil.  “She was used as a bait puppy…”

“So, she’s dangerous. She could snap at any moment,” protested Olivia. 

“And she picked up my unease,” Phil continued as though Olivia hadn’t interrupted him. “So she retreated back to her submissive mode.  Harold, I’ll show you where your bedroom is. You can unpack, change and I’ll put your trousers into the washing machine.”

“I want to see my grandchildren,” protested Harold.

“Not smelling of dog pee,” Olivia snippily protested.  “We’re British dear, we have standards.”

 _They’re certainly soulmates._ Phil thought before he glanced at Jemma who had retreated into herself.

“Wash up first,” Phil suggested. “We’ve got hand sanitizer which we’d like you to utilize.”

* * *

 

Pants were thrown into the wash, the grandparents were brought into the nursery.  The fur children, alas, were instructed to stay in their parents’ bedroom.

“Ooh, they’re lovely,” cooed Olivia. She picked up Felicia, admired her and commented to Felix. “She has your nose, Felix.”

“She actually has Phil’s nose,” Felix informed Jemma’s parents.  “The resemblance would be more noticeable if he hadn’t broken his nose a few times.”

“Oh, I thought you were her father,” Olivia stated.

“I’m not biologically related to the babies. I love them as if they were my own,” Felix admitted. “I was Phil’s friend first, then after he was injured, I helped Jemma.”

“He’s my soulmate,” Jemma announced. “Just like Phil is.”

Instinctively, both of her Soul Mates placed their arms around her, so the fact that they were a team was nonverbally announced. Amelia began to fuss, so Jemma smiled at her parents.

“Children need to be fed, so if you don’t mind…” she began.

Olivia huffed, “I can hold a bottle as well as **_they_** can.”

There was little doubt who ‘ ** _they’_** were.

“I’m breastfeeding,” Jemma explained. “For the first few months at least.”

“Oh Jemma, your breasts will never recover. Between your poor bladder…. And your droopy breasts, you’ll need surgery to get back into shape,” Olivia began.  “I’ll ask William when he arrives tomorrow to recommend someone.”

“Don’t unpack. You’re **_going_** to the Harlem apartment,” Phil announced.

“William? As in Jemma’s brother?” Felix asked, while Jemma shrunk behind her brother-husbands. “He’s coming tomorrow? Is her sister Rowan coming also?”

“Well, yes, of course her siblings and their families are coming for the christening,” Olivia explained slowly, as though to a small child. “I spoke to a lovely fellow at Christ Church, and he’s willing to christen the babies in spite of your unique relationship.”

Phil and Felix stared at each other and mouthed, “ ** _Christening_**?”

“Did you tell them they could stay at our apartment?” Phil asked.

“Well, you have spare bedrooms,” Harold protested. “Hotels are quite costly in New York City.”

Felix glowered and crossed his arms in front of his chest.  Phil then walked up to Harold and told him, “You and your delightful wife are overstepping yourselves.  I will take you to the Harlem apartment…”

“Harlem! That’s dangerous! There was that green beast that rampaged through it just last year,” protested Olive.

The three of them restrained themselves from announcing that the Green Beast in question had presented the babies with the onesies they were wearing now.  ‘I wear this onesie PERIODICALLY’ along with the Periodic Table of Elements was sported by Felicia, an quantum physics rhyme for James while Amelia had a shirt that declared her born to Pipette.  

“No, it’s an up and coming area,” Felix inserted. “When you get there, you can call William and Rowan and tell them to locate a hotel. They’re not staying here. You will be given hours when you can visit.”

“Visiting hours?” Olivia protested. “We’re their grandparents.”

Felicia and James began to wail, and Phil held out one finger to silence the grandparents.

“Visiting hours, and we will call you,” Phil announced. “I am tempted to pardon your inexcusable behavior based on the fact that you are jetlagged. Notice I said, **_tempted_**. However until we can get a schedule down, you’ll have to accept the fact that we will not permit you to stay here as you as disrupting our routine.”

* * *

 

Phil and grandparents left leaving Felix, Jemma, three crying babies, a concerned Sonya and Nekko.  It took some juggling, some lullabies but the children were fed and back in their respective beds by the time Phil returned.  A very subdued Jemma was sitting in the middle of their bed after finishing a nice cuppa of chamomile tea.

“Felix, sorry, I volunteered you to pick up William and his family tomorrow at JFK. They’re in flight so we couldn’t change the plans on them.”

Felix nodded his head, as he realized what Phil wasn’t saying. Olivia had already volunteered him to pick up the family.

“Well, that went well,” dryly offered Felix.

“They blamed Jemma’s intractableness on the clarinet lessons,” Phil explained as he took the position on the left of Jemma. “Funny, I thought **_we_** would be the Bad Guys.”

“Clarinet lessons? I thought you couldn’t have music lessons?” Felix asked as he curled up on Jemma’s right.

“I had them for two weeks, but they decided to discontinue them. Worried I’d develop an overbite,” she admitted.

“Well, our children can have clarinet lessons,” Phil promised Jemma. “No violin lessons as the screeching would upset Sonya. Remember that kid in 5c, Felix? Sonya would howl along to _Twinkle, Twinkle_.”

“My God, his mother made him practice for HOURS,” Felix groaned.

Jemma nodded her head even as her lip quivered.

“Hey, it’s ok, they can have violin lessons,” offered Felix. “We’ll just have to ensure that Sonya is in the dog run else she’ll wail along.”

That did it, Jemma broke down in a postpartum crying jag and her boys were quick to console her with gentle kisses and declarations of their love.

* * *

 

The next morning found Felix waiting in JFK for William Simmons and family. From the little that he knew of William, it seemed that he was Harold’s clone, as for his wife, Siobhan? Well, no doubt Billy’s soulmate was another Olivia, so he popped another antacid.

“Come along now, I think that’s him,” announced a female with an Irish accent. “He’s the only one that matches the description, Bill.”

Felix Blake realized that there was a spikey black haired female that was bearing down on him.  There was a fellow that could have been Harold who was thirty years younger (and a few stones lighter) juggling a toddler.  They were followed by a woman that looked like Jemma, sorta, but not, plus a man who had two kids attached to him.

“You, sir, must be Felix Blake,” the Irish woman announced.

Felix quickly checked that she was talking to him.  She was, apparently.

“Are you sure, Siobhan?”  The woman asked. “It would be rather embarrassing if we caught a ride with the wrong man.”

“’Tis him! He’s the only silver fox here,” the Irish lady loudly announced. “Jemma advised me that Felix is the silver fox while Phil has dark hair.”

She held out her arms to give him a big hug and he found himself embraced by five feet two of Irish pixie-hellion hybrid.

“I’m your sister-in-law, Siobhan.  This is William, Rowan and Arthur. The sprouts are Ellie, Tess and Liam.”

“I was only told that William and his family were coming,” protested Felix after he had been thoroughly hugged, kissed and possibly groped by Jemma’s family.

“Love, we decided it best if we come in mass, as we need to save you from my in-laws,” Siobhan confessed.

Felix couldn’t help himself, he laughed.

“Now, we will be staying…” she rattled off a hotel name. It was located within walking distance of the apartment. “We decided…”

“Vawny, love. There was no we decided, you decided and informed us,” protested Arthur. “However, we are all in agreement with your plan.”

The Irish Sprite made a rather rude noise, and shook her head, “We figured, if you have room, we could split the family, Rowan and I and the luggage in your car, the boys will take the kids in the hired car, and we could have bit of a chinwag on the way over to the hotel.”

She said that all in one breath which impressed Felix.

“Yes, they absolutely loathe me,” Siobhan admitted.  “I’m the founding member of _Not Posh Enough to be Married to a Simmons_ club.  Things really came to a head when in the middle of pushing out Liam, Olivia wished to instruct me. Seems I was screaming and cursing and being a wee bit improper.  It ended up with her being banished from the ward and on the Restricted Visitor’s list. How’s Jemma doing?”

Felix didn’t know Siobhan Simmons at all, so he refused to confess how Jemma was handling her parents. He left it at a non-committal, ‘She’s rather exhausted with the babies.”

“Well, we’re here, so the Simmons can fuss over their other grandchildren,” Rowan stated. “I just wish we had heard about this from Jemma, not from her parents. Because we have no idea what the truth of the situation is.”

“You can’t blame her,” Arthur inserted. “Probably Olivia tells her how you’re best mates with her, and how you and Ro go shopping together.”

“And yes, I’m sure Harold takes you and William fly fishing every season,” was Rowan’s retort.

"Oi! Flies? On A HOOK?" protested Arthur. 

 

 


	9. 9

Felix was dutifully introduced to Jemma’s nephew and nieces as ‘Uncle Felix’ before they and their fathers were bundled into the hired car and disappeared from sight.  The two girls had been bubbly and cheerful like their mums while Liam had been very quiet and withdrawn. When the circus left town, that left Felix with Rowan, (no, love, call me Ro!) and Siobhan (Call me Vawny!)

“Poor sprouts are absolutely knackered,” Vawny informed Felix.

“Long trip,” agreed Ro.

Felix nodded his head and then pounced, “Can you stop acting like a bunch of chavs, Posh and Scary Spice?”

Both women pouted that they had been found out, and Felix shrugged his shoulders even while the two women demanded to know which one was Posh and who Scary was.

“I pulled all your data, Arthur, Siobhan, Rowan and William.  Regular little MENSA group you’ve got going there,” he stated.  “Eton, Aiglon…. Shall I continue? Phil and I aren’t in your league. Did the GI Bill for college after public schools. So why are you acting like this? You **_slumming_**? You trying to fool me into thinking you lot aren’t William and Olivia? Haven’t proved it to me, yet. I heard about the Simmons shenanigans at Jemma’s wedding to Phil.”

Long story short, Olivia had run roughshod over Jemma’s request for a small, family wedding.   Phil had been willing to escape and elope in Vegas, but Jemma had desired a quasi-peace between her parents and her husband.  

“Oh, he’s not a silver fox, he’s bit of a pittie isn’t he?” Rowan commented.

 “So says the woman whose husband deliberately grabbed my ass during the group hug,” Felix informed Ro.

“Actually that was Bill,” Ro confessed.

“It was Arthur,” Felix repeated. “Just because I don’t have a doctorate doesn’t mean I can’t read a person. This Vawny and Ro characters don’t match the Siobhan and Rowena that were at Jemma’s wedding. And it was most assuredly Arthur who grabbed my ass probably because you two told him to do so.”

“I don’t remember seeing you there at the wedding,” Siobhan protested.

In response, Felix narrowed his eyes and glared.  The Irish Sprite wilted as did Rowena, so Felix mentally cataloged that look as being quite helpful in the future when dealing with Felicia and Amelia, though they’d never act like this.  Dear God, **_Please_**.

 “I didn’t involve myself with Olivia’s disagreement with Jemma because it meant that Olivia wasn’t badgering Liam. I didn’t want to draw the Eye of Sauron’s attention to Liam and Ro, here, was dealing with hyperemesis gravidarum which got her admitted to the ward right after the ceremony.”

“Fluids, and a doctor’s note for Mum not to visit me as I was puking up my toenails,” Ro admitted.

“Why would she badger Liam?” Felix asked.

“He’s got a bit of sensory processing disorder and he’s quiet.  His Nan is loud and insistent, which causes Liam to spin. I mean, a literal spin, as spinning helps ground Liam when he’s overstimulated. And Bill’s father is even worse.  We tell him that he’s rather terrifying for poor Liam as he’s big and loud, but it just doesn’t sink in.  I would have stayed home with Liam, but…”

“I insisted that she save me from my mother,” confessed Rowena. “Plus…. Olivia might decide on the dreaded….”

“Home VISIT,” Posh and Scary announced in unison.

“She just shows up on your door with an airy, ‘In the area, and I’d figured I’d visit’,” explained Rowena.

“For four weeks!” Siobhan added.

That was it. He was triple flagging her passport, plus tagging all of Simmon’s crazy relatives’ passports so he’d be warned when they were in the country.

* * *

 

Felix Blake was exhausted when he returned back to his apartment.  Sonya greeted him with a woeful look and then sat, waiting for him to talk to her.  Yes, they were back to basics with Sonya, trying to reinforce her confidence.

“Don’t pee on the floor, ok?” Felix requested Sonya. He crouched and let her come to him and he scratched under her neck. “We’ve got a problem, Sonya. You can help out by keeping an eye out for Liam. He’s Jemma’s nephew and he’s scared like you. You’ll have to be brave for him. You have to do it as your brother is just too loud.”

Sonya wagged her tail, and Felix scratched her again.

“I knew you’d help,” Felix informed Sonya. “Now how’s your mum and your other dad doing?”

“Glad you’re home,” admitted Phil. “Sonya’s been quite morose all day, this is the first time she left Jemma’s side. How are the inlaws? Drop them off at the local homeless shelter?”

“No, no. They rented a floor a Hotel de Posh down the street,” Felix explained. “They will arrive tomorrow at the scheduled visiting hour.”

“Rented a **_floor_**?” Phil asked.

“Bill, Siobhan and Liam are here, plus Rowena, Arthur and their two girls.”

Phil grimaced as the Simmons family had been a horrid bunch to deal with at the wedding. Fortunately, Felix having not been invited to the Wedding of the Century, had missed all the fun.

“Oh wonderful,” Phil finally murmured.

“Considering how they acted at your wedding, you lucked out. They groped me when they met me. Don’t get too close to Arthur,” Felix stated.

Phil’s mouth quivered.

“When I see Arthur, I will inform him that only I am permitted to grope you,” Jemma firmly stated.

“And what about me?” Phil asked. “When do I get to grope Felix?”

“Ladies first,” Jemma primly reminded Phil.  She was leaning against the wall and she was smiling fondly at her two boys.  “You had decades of groping, I need to stake my claim. I overheard your conversation with Sonya – what is the issue with Liam?”

“From what Vawny informed me….”

“VAWNY?  Siobhan lets you call her VAWNY?” Jemma protested.

“Insisted on it,” Felix admitted. “Seems someone described me a silver fox, but Ro thought I was more of a pittie after I told them to cut the ‘We’re one Big Happy Family’ shit as I knew about their less than supportive behavior at your wedding. Siobhan claimed Ro was vomiting her guts up during a rough pregnancy and she was trying to keep your parents’ attention off Liam. Liam seems to have a touch of Asperger’s and your parents terrify him. I spoke with Sonya and she’s agreed to keep an eye on him. She was in training to be a therapy dog for children, so it’s time for her to put her training to use. All she needed to do was take her certification test, but life intervened.”

 “Will have to keep an eye on her with him,” was all Phil said, even though he knew that that Felix’ polite ‘life intervening’ comment had meant when Phil had met Jemma.

“Naturally,” Felix concurred.

“I didn’t know that about Liam. Mum just went on and on about how brilliant he was,” admitted Jemma. “He’s fascinated with outer space.”

“Would Olivia admit to having a less than perfect grandchild?” was what Felix wished to ask, but he knew that he should leave that unvoiced. Because he knew damn well that if he was in Siobhan’s Doc Martens, he’d do anything to protect James, Felicia and especially Amelia.

“We’ll need to have a safe place for him,” Phil inserted. “By that, I mean, a place when the noise gets too much for him, he can have a place to retreat and ground himself.  Monica in Administration has a child with Asperger’s, let me call her and find out what we can do for him. I’m not sure if we ask Siobhan, she’ll tell us what he really needs….”

“Probably need a small spot for the girls,” Felix inserted. “Can we also have a time out spot for Olivia and William also?”

Phil pointed his finger at Felix, but he was trying not to smile.

Jemma smiled happily at her two husbands (HERS! And HERS ALONE). “I love you two,” she murmured.  “My family is so difficult and you’re not running for the hills.”

* * *

 

They assigned one of the empty spare bedrooms as ‘Liam’s Spot’ and placed a large beanbag couch and matching chair just so.  There was a small desk with drawing paper and crayons (washable in case he decided to draw on the wall) plus assorted ‘fidget toys’ in the shape of stars and various planets.   Sonya laid claim to the couch and began to snore.

Rowena’s girls had their own bedroom to crash in, with matching beanbag couches.

All in all, let the Huns attack, they were prepared. And both Phil and Felix were fortified with a bit of Johnny Walker Black.

There was a light tap on the door and Phil opened the door to welcome the Insane Simmons into their home.

Jemma squeezed Felix’s hand. HARD.

“Don’t worry, everything will be just fine,” Felix promised Jemma. He sounded sincere, he just wished he truly believed that this wasn't the worst Idea Ever.


	10. 10

Naturally, The Simmons Clan appeared in mass at their front door. Oliva and William stood at the forefront of the Invasion, then in swept the rest of them except for Siobhan and Liam.  The little boy’s face was scrunched and his appearance was one of a looming meltdown. Siobhan appeared nervous and indecisive about entering their apartment.

“Hello, Liam,” Phil greeted the little boy. “I understand you like planets and stars?”

The little boy… who was maybe five… nodded his head. He didn’t make eye contact with Phil. However Phil was prepared and didn’t insist that Liam look at him.

“Then I hope you like your spot,” Phil continued. “We set it up for Liam just in case he got tired of us boring adults. Don’t worry, the girls have their own room. Shall we show it to him?”

“He’s very wound up,” Siobhan whispered. “I thought it would be best if we stayed back at the hotel but he didn’t want to be left behind. If he gets… Liamified… we’ll leave.”

“Siobhan, he’s my nephew. If he gets excited or if he wants to cry for a bit, we’ll deal with it,” explained Phil.  “Banishment is not an option.”

“Oh dear God, it’s that dog again,” protested Olivia as Sonya walked over to Liam. The Staffie was wearing a fleece jimjam top with a star and planet design (Courtesy of Jemma’ shopping binge when she had been on bedrest as she thought Staffies in shirts were ADORABLE, while Felix failed to understand the allure) and Liam looked at Sonya. In response, Sonya just wagged her tail.

“That’s the dog that peed on William?” Siobhan asked.

“Guilty.” Phil grimaced.

“Can I buy her a bone?” Siobhan asked even as Liam reached toward Sonya. “Careful, Liam. She’s a big dog. Don’t yank her ears.”

“Sonya is very gentle, she’s very good with children,” Phil assured Siobhan.  “Shall we show you Liam’s spot?”

* * *

 

The room was a nice, calm blue and Liam did not focus on the various astronomy toys, but instead he sat in the beanbag couch next to Sonya.  The blue Staffie seemed to reassure Liam as he looked…. **_Tired_** … as opposed to beingthisclosetoameltdown.

“Liam, would you like your blankie?” Siobhan asked.

He nodded and his mother carefully covered him.  He positioned the blanket so it covered a bit of Sonya and then he closed his eyes.  Sonya enjoyed power napping, so she was delighted to curl next to Liam. She left Papa Phil to deal with her crazy grandparents, who the big-hearted Sonya unconditionally loved, even though she understood that it was completely one-sided.

Siobhan tiptoed out of the room and then faced Phil.

“How much do you want for Sonya? I’ll sell a kidney if necessary. So, how much,” she asked. **_Seriously_**.  “I know she’s your dog, but Liam is _sleeping_.”

“She’s a very important member of the family,” Phil protested. “Our family. We **_won’t_** let her go. Maybe you should look into a therapy dog for Liam. Talk to Felix, he was working towards getting Sonya certified as a therapy dog for children. He can make suggestions, possibly help you locate a dog for Liam.”

The two of them looked in at the slumbering Liam who was using the snoring Staffie as a pillow.

“There’s a video baby monitor set up in the corner, so we can watch them,” promised Phil.

“He’s finally sleeping…” Siobhan whispered.  “This trip has been exhausting for him as he hasn’t been sleeping. He must have his routines, which have been shot to shit, and then there’s **_NAN_** …. And let’s not even get started on his grandfather who just terrorizes him just by being William. The size, the voice, the legend.”

* * *

 

“So after the christening, I thought we could have a small gathering,” the twin-set, pearl wearing Olivia began.  “I thought the perfect venue would be here. It’s so quaint.”

Jemma weakly smiled and then Felix inserted his two cents. “Actually, we have other plans.”

“You’re not using your coworkers, are you?” Olivia asked.  “For this, I think we don’t have to worry about your employee discount.”

“Actually, Pepper Potts will be handling the details,” Felix explained even while Jemma appeared startled. “She and Jemma are quite close and she **_insisted_** on throwing the post-Christening party. She thinks very highly of Jemma as an employee and as a friend.”

“I’m sorry, Pepper Potts, as in Virginia ‘Pepper’ Potts?” Arthur asked.

“Yes,” Felix admitted.

“The CEO of Stark Enterprises?” Arthur questioned.

“Yes.” Felix agreed.  “I guess it’s time to admit that Jemma’s really not a party planner….”

“You work for **_Pepper Potts_**?” William interrupted.

“Only Pepper I know,” continued Felix. Hi phone rang, and he held it just so  which enable everyone to see the photo caller id – a picture of Pepper.  “Oh, there she is now. Hello, Pepper. What can I do for you?”

Jemma looked sideways at Felix, who appeared….blasé at being on a first name basis with one Pepper Potts. He nodded his head, once, twice, three times which he never did due to his surgical history so it was part of the act. He listened for a bit, then he said, “I’m sure he’ll love it. Thank you for arranging it.”

He put his phone away and then Phil walked into the room.

“Pepper called. It’s a go for tomorrow morning, if Liam’s up for it,” Felix stated even as Phil sat down on Jemma’s opposite side.

Her two knights were guarding and protecting her, plus they looked highly pleased with themselves.

“Liam?” Olivia asked. She couldn’t hide her confusion.

“Yes,” Phil stated. “We’ll be taking Liam to the Rose Center for Earth and Space at the American Museum of Natural History tomorrow morning.”

“He doesn’t do crowds. He just… gets… **_uncontrollable_** ,” sniffed Olivia while William nodded his head. Vawny, a barroom brawler if Felix had ever known one, pursed her lips and set her jaw as though she was as about to go forth and do battle.

“That’s why they’re opening it at nine just for Liam. They normally open at ten, however they’ve agreed to a delayed opening so Liam can have the museum to himself.  The girls can come if they’re interested, or they can visit the butterfly conservatory or the spiders.”

“SPIDERS!” Ellie announced while Tess wanted butterflies.  Then Tess wanted spiders, really big spiders, while Ellie decided butterflies might be nice.

“However Vawny, you’ll have to let you know if it’s too much for Liam.  Felix and I thought that we should spoil our nephew,” Phil explained. “There’s a moon rock or two that he might even be able to touch. However, we’ll follow your and Bill’s advice as you know Liam best.”

Felix glanced at Papa Simmons and having his attention, smiled the innocence smile of the beatified.

**_GAME ON._ **

 


	11. 11

Naturally, the discussion regarding Godparents was held. Since there were three babies, Jemma's siblings and their spouses, Rowena, Arthur, Bill and Siobhan were obvious choices. Then it became slightly hairy as well, William and Olivia… ok… JEMMA… had picks, perfectly respectable selections that would be a positive influence in their godchild’s lives, while Jemma’s two husbands had decided to be…. Well… difficult with their choices. But in his defense, Phil had claimed that his choices would a beneficial guidance in their children’s lives. Felix had refused to suggest a name as he wasn’t the biological father. He figured he shouldn’t interject his unnecessary opinion in an already emotionally fraught decision. And really, Phil hadn’t needed to mumble ‘coward’ at Felix. Then they stuck their tongues out at each other like they were three. 

_**BOYS!** _

“Skye and Jasper for James,” Phil announced. “And well, traditionally, there is an additional godparent of the same sex assigned, so we thought…. Victoria, Isabelle and Nick.  Close, personal friends of the fathers. I also bestowed the title of Auntie on Melinda May.”

Well, least her children would know how to defend themselves by gun, martial arts or knife, Jemma realized. Steal a car, defuse a bomb… drop the f bomb at least three times in every sentence.   They’d be in the Detention Hall of Fame.

All by the time they reached pre-K.

However, Victoria and Isabelle were close friends with Felix… so it had been a political move.  And Fitz and Mack had been declared Uncles, which was way cooler than being a godfather, so Jemma believed everyone in their extended clan was happy – as Nekko and Sonya had been declared GodDogs (Please, let God have a sense of humor about that and well, her parents would never know).

That decided, the calling hours were over and Felix escorted William and Olivia, Ro, Arthur and their arachnoid-loving daughters to the door.

“Since Liam is still sleeping, we don’t want to wake him,” Felix lied.  In actuality, Liam was explaining to a very interested Sonya the difference between an asteroid and a comet. “See you at the next calling hour!”

He closed the door, and then exhaled.

“Pay up, Phil,” he ordered.  “I told you the Spiders would interest them more than the Butterflies.”

* * *

 

Bill and Siobhan were given information on the exhibit so they could decide if Liam would like to see it.  Felix stated it that way, as opposed to ‘Capable of handling it’. Because, really Liam seemed like a decent kid and Sonya adored him so that was enough for Felix as Sonya was an excellent judge of character. The two of them discussed it and agreed that Liam would enjoy it **_tremendously_**.   That largesse earned him a tearful hug from Vawny and a firm handshake from Bill – fortunately sans ass grabbing.

That done, the Simmons left to take Liam back to the hotel, though he was loathe to leave Sonya. Truth be told, Sonya was a bit put off also.

“He needs a dog,” Jemma murmured. “Not Sonya, but one just like her.”

“She’s one in a million,” agreed Phil.

For a moment, there was blessed silence and then Felix smiled. “I think the next thirty minutes is ours. You know what that means?”

Phil nodded his head and smiled. Phil then stood to assist Jemma after she happily realized the next thirty minutes was theirs to do whatever they wanted.

“Time for a nap!” Jemma happily exclaimed even as her husbands agreed.  They had just gotten cozy with Jemma in the middle with Phil almost asleep when Felix’s phone rang. Felix moaned from under his pillow, loudly, and then answered the phone with a growled, “Hello, Ms. Potts, to what do I owe this pleasure?”

“We’re back to that again?”  Pepper asked as she was on speaker. “Felix, after you called me Pepper today, I thought we were on the cusp of a better relationship.”

“Jemma got jealous,” he explained which earned him a very not nice poke from Jemma.

“Am not!” Jemma hissed.

“Anyway, I have Sonya’s therapy dog certification test scheduled for four this afternoon. I’ll email you the information,” Pepper continued. “She should be officially certified and vested for tomorrow if required for Operation Liam.”

“Thank you,” Felix stated.  “One more favor, he won’t show up tomorrow, will he?”

“I haven’t even mentioned it to him. I’ll see you tomorrow at nine.”

Felix mumbled his appreciation and then relaxed into the bed. He dropped almost immediately in the REM State but naturally Jemma wasn’t having any of that.

“What are you two doing?” Jemma asked.

“Sleeping?” offered Phil as Felix burrowed further into his pillow.

“Not very successfully,” mumbled Felix who had a split second of a very weird dream involving William Simmons, Tony Stark and plate of Chicken Pad Thai. While he needed sleep, he was glad to wake from THAT dream.

“ _With Liam_ ,” Jemma asked. “Operation Liam?”

“He’s not here, he left?” offered Felix who just couldn’t understand why Jemma won’t let them sleep as in twenty two minutes or so, Old Faithful #1, Old Faithful #2 or Old Faithful #3 would erupt. Possibly at both ends.

“Being supportive, caring uncles?” Phil asked.

“Who are **_sleeping_**?” Felix offered as he had to be ready for Sonya’s certification exam. He had just gotten in a comfortable spot when there was a whimper from a crib.

“James,” Phil stated as he got out of bed.

* * *

 

Actually it was James and Felicia, so Phil grabbed both and brought them to Jemma.  Since Felix was head under the pillow at the moment and she didn’t have to worry about his rather charming but unrealistic ideas regarding what he could watch and how much he could see of her, Jemma just undid her shirt and let the good times roll... err... the milk flow.  Then it was time for Amelia who required a little more Mommy time which she was happy to give.  When Amelia was full, Phil returned the smallest of her babies to her crib.

“Cabbage leaves,” she ordered her knave, as she was feeling quite sore.

He returned with an assortment of cold cabbage leaves and he helped her position the large leaf on her much abused boob who was unhappily screaming that her Express Order for Gallons upon Gallons Milk had Arrived!  To her surprise, she felt Felix’s hand on her other breast and he was placing a large cabbage leaf on her right breast. 

When she was properly cabbaged, Felix got out the bed to search for her bra. She had thrown it in a corner, she remembered.

“He was watching while you nursed,” murmured Phil.  “Don’t make a big deal of it. He was utterly enthralled.”

“I wouldn’t dare risk it, as he’s finally getting comfortable with the concept of **_us,_** ” she murmured.

“Poor man, he should be committed,” Phil teased.

“No, we need to spring a Commitment ceremony on him, in front of witnesses, so he can’t escape. Perhaps when we have the Christening ceremony?” Jemma stated. “I’ll talk to the minister when Felix is taking Sonya for her exam. Hopefully, he’s liberal about three soul mates.”

On the far end of the bed room, Felix picked up a lacey unmentionable and asked if she wanted that one.

“No, can you find the black one? It’s got larger cups than that one?” Jemma requested. “I think I went up three cups sizes since this morning.”

Felix turned back to his expedition, even while Phil Coulson laughed. Softly.

“Poor guy. Felix never had a chance with you, did he?”  Phil whispered.

“Really, it was for his own good,” protested Simmons.  “He was so brokenhearted due to everything, I **_had_** to take care of him. I made sure he had all his shots, a nice warm bed and new collar. And I gave him scritches every morning and every night.”

Felix announced that he had found the prize and he brought it to their bed.

Jemma held out her arms and asked her boys to hook her up. That done, she sank back into bed. “I’ll smell like cabbage now. But it will be worth it if the girls stop screaming.”

Felix and Phil murmured a soft protest and then Jemma pounced, “What is Operation Liam?”

“Our version of Shock n’ Awe?” offered Phil.

“Oh good God,” protested Jemma.  “What are you two doing?”

“It’s really for the best that you don’t know of our nefarious plans,” murmured Felix from underneath his pillow.

“Tony Stark,” Jemma stated.

“Is he **_here_**?” Phil asked as he sat up in the bed. “We’re gonna need a bigger bed.”

“For that ego, hell yes, brother,” Felix rumbled.

“Please assure me that Stark isn’t involved,” Jemma pleaded.

“He isn’t,” Felix easily agreed even as Phil chimed in his agreement.  “Now go to bed.”

“Promise?” Jemma pleaded.

“Promise,” her boys easily promised her. 

They weren’t lying to her, so she drifted off to sleep. However, her subconscious mind continued to churn on the issue until she realized what her boys hadn’t said or more importantly, who they hadn’t mentioned out of a certain unholy trinity.  She sat up straight in the bed, and she said one word, “ ** _Banner_**?”

 


	12. 12

“Dear, how long as you planning on breastfeeding?” Olivia asked her daughter. She had been granted temporary visiting rights for when the Minister came to discuss the Christening with Jemma and Phil.  William Simmons and the rest of the motley crew had not been permitted to join them.

Needless to say Phil and Felix were mentally debating their largesse as they found Olivia to be bit of a pill at best, and when in the process of planning a Christening, to be a true horror.

“For the first few months until I return back to work. I want to ensure that they get all the secretory immunoglobulin A that only I can give them,” Jemma explained.

Phil discreetly thumbed his Stark Pad and then slipped it to Felix, who quickly read up on what Jemma had just mentioned.

“But your breasts, dear,” Olivia stage whispered.              

“Are simply gorgeous,” Felix inserted while Phil happily agreed. Jemma flushed in happy embarrassment and softly murmured, ‘Shhh’ at him.

Olivia Simmons froze as apparently the Ugly Americans were overwhelming even the legendary British Composure.

“You’ll need this,” Olivia whispered. She handed Jemma a small container. “All natural for any issues you might have. Safe for babies. I found it… helpful. Bill was a bit of a latcher.”

 _“Somehow I will never think of him the same way,”_ Phil and Felix both thought. They were deliberately not looking at one another as they knew that they’d crack.

“Well, I need to take Sonya out,” Felix stated. He didn’t even attempt to hide the fact that he was grateful for a reprieve. “Be back later.”

“Let me talk to Sonya first,” Jemma requested.  “Come here, Sonya.”

Olivia was still shellshocked by Jemma’s husbands stating their approval of Jemma’s munificent breasts, so she said not a word when Jemma patted the couch next to her.  Sonya leapt onto the couch and Jemma turned towards her.

“I anticipate that you’ll make your fathers and me proud by acing your exam.  However, even if you mess up, I will always love you,” she assured her oldest daughter.  “Now go with your Dad and show the evaluators how great you are.”

Sonya licked Jemma on her face and then looked at Grammy. The Staffie looked hopeful then sad, and her tail went down.

“She wants her Grammy to wish her good luck as she’s taking her test,” Jemma explained to Olivia.  “It’s a very important test as she wants to be become a therapy dog. It would mean a great deal to her.”

Sonya worked the Big, Sad, Puppy Dog Eyes and Olivia Simmons caved because she did possess a heart.

 “I’m sure she’ll do fine,” Olivia finally managed. “She’s obviously a very intelligent girl. Takes after her fathers like that.”

To her credit, the shellshocked Olivia had managed to find her British Resolve and keep buggering on… as now she could say the word ‘FATHERS’ without flinching.

Sonya perked up, wished to kiss her Grammy, decided against it and then went to Phil.

“Love you,” Phil informed his four legged daughter. “When you come home, you’ll have a new squeaky toy to destroy.”

* * *

 

Felix was about to escape with his sanity intact when there was a knock on the door.

“Should be the minister,” chirped Olivia.

“I’ll check,” offered Felix. After confirming and verifying that it was the minister at the door (Thanks to Stark Tech) he opened the door to welcome in Reverend James McAllister.

Reverend James was wearing a sharp suit, but Felix noticed the long sleeves that barely hid the one tattoo, that his left ear (while bare) had multiple piercings and he appeared to be all of twenty five years old. All in all, he appeared the very epitome of a Hip Minister.

“Hello, I’m Reverend Jim McAllister. I’m here to speak with a Jemma Simmons regarding a Christening?” He asked.

“I’m Felix, and come on in,” he offered.

The minister stepped in and then his eyes lit up when he saw Sonya. The Staffie wagged her tail in friendly greeting.

 _Please don’t submissively pee, please don’t submissively pee,_ Felix prayed. _It’s one thing to do to your dick of a granddad, but to a man of God. Bad Karma!_

“What a beautiful Staffie,” the minister exclaimed. “May I say hello?”

“Absolutely,” Felix murmured. “Her name is Sonya.”

Reverend Jim crouched and approached Sonya like a true dog lover would.  He petted, scratched and admired while Sonya gobbled up his admiration as though it was organic chicken strips.

“We also have a Japanese terror, and I mean, **_terror_** , by the name of Nekko. He’s cute, but brainless. Sonya is the brains and the beauty of the operation,” Felix explained.

“That she is, but poor girl has some scars,” murmured Reverend Jim.  “Rescue?”

“Found her, took her in, fixed her up, refuse to let her go,” was Felix’s response.

“Just moved here, so once I get settled, I’ll want to adopt a dog.  Miss having one, but wouldn’t be fair to the dog until I got a place,” was his explanation. “You’re leaving? You’re not involved with the Christening discussion?”

“Sonya needs to take her therapy dog certification exam.  Besides Phil and Jemma need to make all the decisions. I’m just the uncle,” Felix subterfuged.

Reverend Jim gave Sonya one final scratch and then he stood. “I thought _you_ were part of the parental group?”

Felix said nothing.

“Three is a sacred number in Christianity, Felix.  If you’re all soulmates, then the Good Lord decided you should be soulmates.  I certainly can’t disagree,” protested Reverend Jim. “But good luck, Sonya! Give ‘em heaven.”

* * *

 

The Christening details were quickly ironed out and Olivia left once she was reassured that it would be a Christening of which to be proud.  That done, Jemma smiled at Father James. It was a bright cheerful smile that made Phil quite nervous as he was familiar with the minx.

“I wish to make this a double event. I wish a proper Bonding Ceremony with both my husbands.  Felix and Phil were together before I met Phil.  However, Felix’s soul mark hadn’t appeared yet, so he nobly stepped aside so that Phil and I could be together.”

Well, that was one way of putting it, Phil thought.

“Then during the battle of New York, Phil was critically injured and died.  As you see, he was revived, but he had amnesia.  With all the chaos Post New York, we didn’t know he was alive. Since I was pregnant, Felix stepped in… Phil returned in time for the delivery, new Soul Marks appeared which we can show you…and now we have a literal swarm of Soul Marks, and a very strong desire to Bond our family in a public ceremony. We can do both at the same time, right?”

 Jemma smiled.

“I really should be discussing this with all three of you,” protested the young, and hopelessly outgunned Anglican minister.

Noble, and **_doomed_**.

 ** _Sniff_**.

Jemma’s wide, expressive eyes filled with tears.

 ** _Sniff_**.

“Phil, doesn’t Felix want to Bond with us?”  Yes, her plaintive question was completed with a quivering lip. “If he didn’t have to take Sonya for her exam, he’d be right here. I mean, he married me when we thought you were … gone…  He snuggles next to us in bed….You two were involved for **_decades_** …. I mean, you have my soul mark, and that is most assuredly Felix’s handwriting on your inner thigh. Plus the comment is something he’d say…. If Felix was here….”

 She patted the couch next to her, which had been recently vacated by Olivia Simmons.

“Felix would be…. Right here… supporting us… in our desire to make our… relationship… **_public_** … If he didn’t want the best for our nephew Liam, I’d be cross… but Liam …” Copious sniffs. “He’s a special boy and Sonya as a therapy dog would help him… would be beneficial.”

Jemma wiped her eyes, and softly admitted, “If he wasn’t so noble, I’d be tempted to thwack him…”

Reverend Jim never had a chance when faced with the Steamroller known as Jemma Simmons.

“There is a Triad Bonding Ceremony that isn’t in the **_Book of Common Prayer._** I’ll research it and have it ready for you. I believe it’s in ** _The Book of Alternative Services_**.”

Now Jemma was still sobbing, but happy tears.

“Oh, thank you, Reverend James. Once I’m feeling up to it, I’d like to check out your church.  Being on bedrest for the last few months, I haven’t been able to do much,” Jemma admitted.

The Reverend fled, as though the very Hounds of Hell were nipping at his heels. Phil leaned back in the couch and exhaled. He most assuredly did not look at the minx next to him.

“Phil,” Jemma, who had miraculously recovered from her crying jag, and now appeared confused. “Whatever is the matter?”

“Did you even talk to Felix?” Phil asked.

Jemma Simmons then turned on the Bambi Eyes, Full of Unwept Tears and Quivering Lip effect.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Phil protested. “You should use your powers for Good, Jemma Simmons.”

“I want Felix to know that he **_belongs_** with us,” she protested. “Don’t you want that? I think that is for the Better Good.”

“Springing it on him at the Christening might cause him to run,” protested Phil. “He is a **_runner_** , Jemma.”

“I’ll spike him in his instep,” Jemma offered. “Then you manhandle him to the altar.”

“JEMMA!”

* * *

 

Felix had a serious conversation with Sonya, stressing how important this exam was but no matter what occurred, he was proud of her.  The Staffie nodded her head, even as Pepper Potts smiled.

“She’s amazing, Felix.”

“She’s Sonya,” was all a nervous Felix would say.

“Anything I need to know before I take the exam with her? Any questions or concerns?” Pepper asked.

“How do you walk in those things?” Felix asked as he pointed at her Jimmy Choos. “Let alone run in those monstrosities? They’re at least five inches.”

“They’re only four and half,” Pepper protested.

“That half inch is so important,” he snarked.

“For Tony, it is.  Don’t look at me like that, Tony’s short,” was all she said. At his continuingly arched eyebrow, she added, “Every inch helps when you’re dealing with him.”

The evaluator came and he was a big, brawny man, the type that Sonya formerly couldn’t handle.  The Staffie leaned against her Dad’s leg for quiet emotional support.

“Sonya, please go with Pepper,” Felix requested. 

The three of them walked off with Sonya not even looking behind for him. Felix then sank in a chair, and closed his eyes. “So this is what expectant fathers feel like,” was his last thought as he quickly fell into a deep, restorative sleep.

Jemma Simmons was cute but exhausting.

* * *

 

It was Sonya who woke him. A happy, tail wagging Sonya who was licking his face. Felix murmured a protest even while he regained consciousness.

“Come on, Sonya. That’s an automatic DQ,” he protested.

“Well, I’ll excuse it as high spirits as she passed with a perfect score on her first time. She even displayed intelligent disobedience, which is something we encourage,” the examiner explained.  “You interested in training more dogs for us?”

“Life’s busy, I’ll have to pass,” Felix explained.

“Shame, she’s a rock steady Staffie. Didn’t even let the yappy Yorkie bother her.”

“Her brother is a bit of a nuisance, as he knows he’s cute,” explained Felix. “So, we’ve got the paperwork?”

“I even have the vest,” Pepper happily stated.  “I knew she’d pass, so I had it overnight expressed it here. She can wear it tomorrow when she works with Liam. I can’t wait to meet him.”

* * *

 

The family held a small celebration party for Sonya.  She was given many scritches, a big bone and _**TWO** _ squeaky toys.

It was all worth it when Liam shyly asked if Sonya could come with him to the Rose Center for Earth and Space at the American Museum of Natural History. The little boy happily spun when he was assured that Sonya could also attend.


	13. The End

“You did a very good job today,” Felix informed Sonya. “You kept Liam focused, composed and happy Most importantly you didn’t pee on Gramps. You are an exceptionally good dog. Plus you are the best therapy dog I know. I’ll see what I can do about utilizing your skills at the local kids’ hospital.”

Sonya the Staffie wagged her tail. Happily.   Felix had taken his kids to the park so they could have a nice run (away from the grandparents) and now they were enjoying a nice cold drink. Yes, he was delaying his return back to the Simmons infestation at his apartment.  No shame in admitting that to anyone especially himself and the fur kids.

“Your brother, on the other hand, is a ditz,” Felix continued.  “When Grammy puts her breakfast on the floor, it isn’t yours, Nekko. Thank God, I caught you before all hell broke loose.”

Nekko, he of the little brain but blessed with copious amounts of sheer adorability, wagged his tail. Just like his big sister Sonya. For added cuteness, he tapped Felix’s knees with his paws and gave him big puppy eyes.

“But I was hungweeeeeeeee,” Nekko explained.

“No, you **_weren’t_**.”

“Felix Blake?” a man asked.

“Yes?” Felix responded, as he couldn’t quite place the runner though he looked familiar.  Hopefully, it wasn’t someone he knew because being caught talking to a dog, even one as cute as Nekko, was usually frowned upon. “I Run with JC” was emblazoned on the stranger’s shirt.

“James McAllister. Hello there, Sonya and Nekko,” the minister exclaimed.

“Oh, the minister!” Felix realized.

“Mind if I share the park bench?” he asked. When Felix nodded his head, the minister sat next to him. “I’m glad that I met up with you today. We really need a chance to talk. Jemma and Phil had mentioned adding your Bonding ceremony to the christening and I really desired your input.”

Felix said nothing at first because it was news to him but really it shouldn’t have been. Jemma had decided she was the captain of the Good Ship of Polyamory, and that Phil and Felix would toe the line, swab the deck, and hoist the main sails when she was ready to set sail once more (Freudian).  Fortunately, Nekko was being a prat so he could focus on him rather than gaping like a fish.

“Well, whatever Jemma wants, I’ll just go along with,” he finally managed. “I’m just the spare.”

**_Jesus, Jemma.  Were you planning on even telling me?_ **

“Not from what I heard. When Phil was injured, you stepped in and helped Jemma. She really wants to Bond you and Phil.”

Felix nodded. Sonya realized that Felix was in need of support, so she sat on his foot. Obviously, she still needed assistance in what a therapy dog did, as breaking his toe wasn’t being supportive.

“She didn’t mention it to you, did she?” the minister asked.  “I got that idea, but hoped that I would be able to talk to you before the ceremony.”

“She mentioned that she wished us to be properly bonded, but I didn’t realize that she was planning a two for one special,” Felix confessed.

“The fact that she was contemplating springing this on you at the Christening doesn’t bode well for your relationship,” the minister admitted. “I’ll tell her no. A Bonding Ceremony is sacred, based on the sanctity of soul bonds. It’s not a spur of the moment idea.”

It was past time to give up and accept the bitter truth that he had been defeated by Jemma Simmons.  For better or for worse, he was a Mute, and he’d never experience the Bond that Jemma and Phil possessed… but by Bonding them… in a public ceremony, he’d have that much, at least.  It wouldn’t be what he had witnessed firsthand from his parents, but… it would be… something.

“Actually… she knows me entirely too well.  I’m a runner,” Felix confessed. “Phil probably has a taser and he’ll force me to the altar. And to be completely honest, I’m not Soul marked. They are marked with my handwriting and the first thing I ever said to them, but I am not similarly marked. I’m Soulless, I sat for the exams, and I’m completely and utterly Soulless.”

“Soul Mute,” protested Father Jim.  

“Jemma’s doing this so I will finally accept that Phil and Jemma truly desire me to be part of their relationship,” Felix explained.

“No, you’re not part of **_their_** relationship; you have a relationship with both of them, each of the relationships are unique, each of them special. You were there when Jemma needed you most. Don’t you think Phil is envious of missing that?”

Felix thought for a very long moment before he spoke. “He… probably is… though truth demands that Jemma had episodes were she was pretty scary. He should be glad he missed those.”

“And you were involved with Phil for how long? Isn’t Jemma possibly green-eyed of that? She’ll deny it, but don’t you think she might be slightly jealous of your long association?” 

Even Nekko tilted his head as he concentrated on the minister’s surprising conversation turn.

“Jemma doesn’t have a jealous bone in her body,” Felix protested as he instinctively defended Jemma.  Then he stopped and looked at the minister. “God, you’re **_good_**. Oops, is that blasphemy?”  

“I think that He’ll excuse it if you cease looking for a reason to escape His plan for you. Really, most troikas are marked the minute one of their partners are born.  In this case, each of your partners took a while for your Soul writing to appear. Phil’s appeared when he had amnesia, and he didn’t remember your fear of commitment, your belief in your intrinsic unworthiness. No, he just remembered how much he trusted you and loved you. Jemma’s arrived after she believed Phil was dead and that she was slowly falling in love with you. Let go of your ironclad control, Felix. This is the relationship that God has made for you. Be glad and rejoice in it.”

Felix quirked an eyebrow.

“Yes, I had a very long conversation with Jemma while you and Sonya were with Liam this morning,” admitted the minister. “She was having second thoughts about surprising you at the Christening, so I told her that I wasn’t a good idea. Phil and Jemma both agreed to not spring it on you. However, being a romantic, I was hoping that I would find you here. I do like to perform Bonding Ceremonies. I’m less likely to get peed upon.”

Felix Blake took a very long time to process their conversation and then he smiled. “I know what to do.”

“Good man, cute dogs,” the minister stated.

“Expect a call from Jemma later today,” Felix informed the minister. “We might be having the two for one special after all.”

The minister nodded his head as he realized that his mission was completed. “Well, time to run. Talk to you soon as I want to adopt a rescue.”

Felix Blake agreed.  He looked at his fur kids who were staring at him. “Wish me luck. I need to have a serious conversation with your Mum and Da.”

* * *

 

“He’s right, Felix would never go for it,” Jemma admitted to Phil. “Why didn’t you stop me?”

“Because I truly want Felix to be part of our family also. My enthusiasm on getting him officially Bonded so he can’t escape overwhelmed my common sense,” confessed Phil. “It’s just… it wouldn’t be a good idea just to inform him ‘Hey – we’ve got the church and we got minister, and the family is here, let’s Bond’.”

“Plus we’re all dressed nicely,” added Jemma. “I just want him to be part of this…”

“I know, I know,” Phil whispered. “We’ll get there. It may take time, but it will happen.”

The door to the apartment jiggled as Felix opened the door. Jemma smiled brightly at Phil who in turn, squeezed her hand.   Felix entered the apartment, let the fur kids lose and then closed the door.

“Hey,” he said as he opened the fridge.  “I was thinking something crazy.”

“Never,” demurred Jemma. “Do you think it’s possible for Felix to think crazy things, Phil?”

Phil made a face, which Felix didn’t see as he was in the fridge, searching for a cold drink.

“No, no, no. Let me finish. I was just thinking, you know… do you think Father Jim could tack on a Bonding ceremony after the Christening?” Felix asked.  “You know… make us…. Binding?”

Jemma said nothing, as did Phil.   An unnerved Felix then hesitantly left the safety of the refrigerator and closed the door.

“Or… maybe not…” he added just before his partners embraced him.

“We’ll need a tux for Nekko,” Jemma informed Felix. “And a fancy dress for Sonya.”

 

The End.

 

Epilogue

Four years later.

Phil, Felix and Jemma were at the obstetrician’s office.  They were anxiously awaiting for the results of Jemma’s blood test, and then the doctor announced a rather familiar number.

“80,000 Hcg?” Jemma squeaked. “Are you… **_sure_**?”

“Can you rerun the test?” Felix questioned. “Please?”

“What am I missing here?” Phil asked.  He looked at his co-spouses, then at the doctor who held up multiple fingers and then he groaned after he counted, and recounted. “Jemma…. Do you have to be an overachiever in everything you do?”

“Apparently so,” Felix quipped.

“I want to throw up,” mumbled Jemma.

 

 

 


End file.
